Paolo Gallo

Paolo is originally from Piedmont and studied graphic design in Novara. Before moving to Berlin in 2006, he worked as a theatre lighting technician and cinema projectionist. Since settling in Berlin, he has collaborated on several artistic projects. His artistic practice ranges from photography and video installations to collages made from 35 mm celluloid film, presented in the project Kinofragmente, and Paludaria, a series of self-contained biospheres.

He has been influenced by filmmakers like Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry—advertising aesthetics that he studied closely as a teenager. But his earliest inspiration lies further back: the classical painters. Above all, Caravaggio, because of his mastery of light and shadow—the man who punched a hole in his roof just to get the light exactly the way he wanted it.

These influences become visible in the photograph shown here. The portrait is carefully composed through subtle interventions: a precisely styled hairstyle, a slight turn of the body, and soft studio lighting. The work is part of a triptych inspired by the long tradition of Madonna imagery, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance — one of the most iconic representations of women in art history.

Paolo’s work brings Piedmont and Berlin, classical painting and contemporary visual culture into dialogue, making Madonnina a great addition to the Woman Portrait Gallery.