Ten years after the disappearance of Elisabetta Catalano (1944 - 2015), the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts pays tribute to one of the greatest protagonists of Italian photography with the focus on Elisabetta Catalano. Focus on the artists.

On display are sixteen prints - between vintage and modern - recently acquired by the Museum thanks to the public notice Photography Strategy (2023), promoted by the General Directorate of Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. Through the art of portraiture, Catalano has been able to depict like few others the artistic and cultural climate of her time. In her shots, psychological introspection and creative vitality coexist, conveying the joy of transforming one's thoughts into works of art. Her attentive and participatory gaze has immortalized the protagonists of an era, contributing to defining the visual imagery of contemporary art.

In front of her lens have passed, among others, Carla Accardi, Alighiero Boetti, Enzo Cucchi, Francesco Clemente, Michelle Coudray, Gino De Dominicis, Luciano Fabro, H.H. Lim, Fabio Mauri, Eliseo Mattiacci, Marisa and Mario Merz, Michelangelo Pistoletto with Maria Pioppi, Maurizio Mochetti, Vettor Pisani, Remo Salvadori with Sally Benjamin, Mario Schifano, and Lawrence Weiner.

The exhibition path juxtaposes official portraits and proofs from the Elisabetta Catalano Archives, offering a close look at her working method: a meticulous research involving exposure times, exchanged glances, encounters, and artistic partnerships. From this process, built in silence and concentration, emerge the frames that now belong to the history of contemporary imagery.

The exhibition is both a tribute and a narrative: a portrait of the photographer as a witness and protagonist of the artistic and cultural scene she has traversed.

The works on display compose a true fresco of the national and international art world, from the seventies to the two thousands.