Maurizio Galimberti (Como, 1956) is one of the most internationally recognizable Italian photographers. Using instant film, he developed a unique technique—the photographic mosaic—through which he has been able to multiply time, fragment reality, and reassemble it as a vision. His portraits of Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga, and Robert De Niro, along with collaborations with Fiat, Acqua di Parma, and Illycaffè, and exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and the Newton Foundation in Berlin, place him at the intersection of auteur photography and contemporary art.
“Each mosaic is a multiplication of time: overlapping moments that become a single vision.”
He grew up in Meda, initially working in the family business as a surveyor. From a young age, he developed a passion for photography, entering competitions with classic black-and-white film.
From 1983 onward, he began working almost exclusively with Polaroid instant photography, fascinated by the immediacy of the result and by the possibility of manipulating the print after the shot. It was precisely through Polaroid that he developed his personal photographic mosaic technique — also known as “cluster” or “butterfly wings.”
From 1985 to 1993, in parallel, he pursued research on movement and dynamism using a rotating Widelux camera, inspired by the Futurists and Marcel Duchamp. He later transferred this vision into the Polaroid Spectra language, producing highly dynamic images with strong visual impact.
The “cluster” or “butterfly wings” technique is at the core of Galimberti’s artistic identity: a sequence of instant shots assembled into a mosaic, in which each tile is an autonomous moment contributing to an overall vision. No digital post-production is involved: everything happens during the shooting phase.
In 1999, this research earned him the number one ranking among Italian portrait photographers by Class magazine. Portraits of figures such as Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga, and Robert De Niro followed.
Since 2019, with the Fuji Instax Square Matrix, he has further evolved the method: a photographic matrix that is then broken down into a mosaic, considered an integral yet separate part of the final work. The technique has been applied in projects such as Emilia, Gibellina, Luchi Sport, Forest Frame, and others.
His technique has attracted the attention of major companies and cultural institutions. Among the most significant collaborations: AC Milan (Il Milan del Centenario), Fiat Auto (2006 Calendar, New Fiat 500), Illycaffè (2008 corporate campaign), Acqua di Parma (advertising campaigns since 2019), Jaeger-LeCoultre (the book La Grand Maison), Nokia (the book Telefoninotempoemozione), Lancia (portraits at the 66th Venice Film Festival), Kerakoll (the book New York materico-movimentosa), Maison Enrico Coveri (Around Enrico Coveri, 2018), Fontana Gruppo (70th anniversary volume, 2022).
He is also a member of the jury of the “Venice Movie Stars Photography Award,” dedicated to photographs taken during the Venice Film Festival.
Through the mosaic technique, Galimberti reinterprets and reinvents works from Italy’s artistic and cultural heritage, engaging with history through instant photography.
Winged Victory of Brescia — The image was adopted as the official poster by the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper — The project became a volume published by Skira and was later exhibited at the Gallerie d’Italia of Intesa Sanpaolo in Milan (November 2019 – January 2020).
Cappellone of Saint Nicholas in Tolentino — A 2015–2017 project using all Instant photography techniques. The final part, dedicated to the aftermath of the October 30, 2016 earthquake, was created with original Polaroid 50×60 film.
In 2020–21, for the LUCHI Collection, he reinterpreted iconic historical images published in the volumes Uno Sguardo Nel Labirinto Della Storia and L’illusione di una storia senza futuro, both published by Skira.
With the end of Polaroid production in 2008 and the difficult experimental revival by Impossible Project, the shortage of film led Galimberti to increasingly use Fuji film. Since September 2017, he has been the official Instant Artist for Fuji Italia (Instax Square project).
In 2022, he returned to experimenting with the new Polaroid I-2 camera and iType film, which converged into the project La Casa di Hilde, published in FIAF notebook no. 9 in 2025.
Since January 2026, he has been Artistic Director / Instant Artist master photographer at VerytaStudio Giant Polaroid in Como, a studio equipped with the Giant Camera Polaroid 50×60.
1999 — Ranked first among Italian portrait photographers by Class magazine.
2013 — Retrospective exhibition “Paesaggio Italia,” Palazzo Franchetti, Venice. Over 150 works.
2017 — 57th Venice Art Biennale, Venice Pavilion, curated by Stefano Zecchi.
2018 — “L’Italia dei Fotografi,” 24 emblematic photographers of 20th-century Italian photography, M9 Museum Venice-Mestre. Volume published by Marsilio.
2020 — “Maurizio Galimberti Visioni Molteplici,” IMAGES Festival, Museo delle Trame Mediterranee – Fondazione Orestiadi di Gibellina.
2021 — “Due Sguardi a Confronto” with Gianni Berengo Gardin, Fondazione di Venezia for the city’s 1600th anniversary.
2022 — A.I.F. Lifetime Achievement Award, Palazzo Reale Milan. “Le Immagini Rilegate” Award (joint winner with Giovanni Chiaramonte), FOTO Festival Milano and Kasa dei Libri.
2023 — Civic Merit Award from the Municipality of Meda for artistic achievement. Exhibitions: MAC Lissone, Museo MACOF, Ex Magazzini del Sale Bergamo.
2024 — Lectio Magistralis, Brera Academy, Sala Napoleonica. Exhibition “Fotografia imperfetta dentro il fragile vivere,” Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
2025 — Exhibition “Polaroids,” Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin. Exhibition “tra Polaroid e Ready Made e le Lezioni Americane di Italo Calvino,” Le Stanze della Fotografia, Venice. Exhibition “Materia e Visione,” Fondazione Rovati.
2026 — Group Exhibition “100 fotografie per ereditare il Mondo”, Mudec, Milano. Group Exhibition “Vittoria Alata”, Museo Santa Giulia, Brescia. Exhibition “Cinquanta Novecento”, Palazzo Ducale, Guastalla. Exhibition “Mitoraj Project”, The Project Space, Pietrasanta. Exhibition “Il Germanicus”, Museo Sociale, Amelia.
2003 — Viaggio in Italia, Logos
2006 — New York Polaroid, Damiani Editore
2010 — Berlino, Silvana Editoriale
2013 — Paesaggio Italia, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti
2017 — Flowers 1, Centro Diffusione Arte
2017 — Flowers 2, Centro Diffusione Arte
2018 — Around Enrico Coveri, Silvana Editoriale
2018 — Il Cenacolo di Leonardo Da Vinci, Skira
2019 — Progetto Emilia, prime istantanee, Corsiero Editore
2021 — Uno Sguardo Nel Labirinto Della Storia, Skira
2021 — L’illusione di una storia senza futuro, Skira
2021 — Gibellina, Dadainstant
2022 — La Promessa, Skira
2022 — Il Mosaico del Mondo, Marsilio Cartabianca
2022 — Inside the Cathedral of the World, Marsilio Editore
2024 — Strage di Brescia 1974, Skira
2025 — La casa di Hilde, Quaderni FIAF
2025 — I fiori della casa di Hilde, Quaderni FIAF
2025 — Sonia Delaunay, Quaderni FIAF
2025 — Matisse Project, Corsiero Editore
2025 — Moro Project, Corsiero Editore
2025 — Materia e Visione, Corsiero Editore
2026 — Mitoraj Project, Quaderni FIAF
2026 — Villa d’Este, Allemandi Editore
2026 — Cinquanta Novecento, Corsiero Editore
The Hotel Villa d’Este project in Cernobbio represents the synthesis of a new research phase: mosaics engaging with both digital and analog Polaroid, all created during the shooting process without post-production. The volume is scheduled for June 2026.
Since January 2026, Galimberti has been Artistic Director of VerytaStudio Giant Polaroid in Como, an exclusive studio dedicated to the Giant Camera Polaroid 50×60 — the largest instant print format in the world.