Franco Fontana, a master of photography and colour, has died in Modena
His works are held in over 50 museums around the world
Franco Fontana, a master of photography and colour, has died in Modena at the age of 92. Born in Cognento on 9 December 1933, his works are held in over fifty museums around the world. He has had over 400 exhibitions, and 70 books have been dedicated to him. He received international prizes and honours, and created numerous advertising campaigns (including, amongst others, Fiat, Volkswagen, Ferrovie dello Stato, Sony, Volvo, Versace, Canon, Kodak, Snam and Robe di Kappa), and contributed to editorial features in Tome-Life, US Vogue and French Vogue, *Venerdì* (La Repubblica), *Sette* (Corriere della Sera), *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung* and *The Times*.
Since the 1970s, Fontana has sought to develop a minimalist compositional style, based on blocks of colour, transforming nature and the landscape into abstract forms and almost geometric figures. His monograph *Skyline* (1978) brought him international recognition. In 1999, on behalf of Craf and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, he taught photography to primary school children in New York. He has collaborated, amongst others, with the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Ministries of Culture of France and Japan, and in 2006 he was awarded an honorary degree in design by the Polytechnic University of Turin.
