Personal memories of Robert Vano captured in his photographs bring a nontraditional insight into his life and work. They were exhibited for the first time at the end of the last year in Prague on the occasion of the MEMORIES book launch. Among the black and white photos so typical for the photographer, there were also numerous collection of color pictures showed in this exhibition as a new element pointing out his works with Polaroid he loved to use in 1970s and 1980s. On the occasion of his forthcoming significant birth anniversary, we decided to bring all these memories to life and show them in all their beauty. “I am very happy to present my MEMORIES in Bratislava for the first time. I have never exhibited my works in this city before, although I was born in Slovakia. Most of my memories of this city are bound to the times before my emigration,” says Robert Vano. The MEMORIES project has taken shape gradually over the years. Initially, Robert Vano put his mind merely on making preparations for publishing his book. Working on this task, he came to decision to add an exhibition that will accompany the release of the book. The photographic recollections of Robert Vano contain more than 190 black-and-white and color images from different periods and places. A considerable part of this magnificent retrospective project was created in New York, Paris and Milan. Aligned not traditionally in a chronological order but on the basis of the associations of the photographer himself, the exhibition as well as the book brings a summary of Vano‘s work from 1968 to the present. Vano‘s MEMORIES represent the celebration of the past and the present – it is an extraordinary book and cultural event dedicated to all lovers of classic and fashion photography.
He was born in Nové Zámky, Slovakia, to parents of Hungarian descent. He studied in Bratislava and after his closing exams in 1967, instead of joining the armed forces for duty, he emigrated via Yugoslavia and Italy to the United States where he made a living as a hairdresser and beauty parlour assistant. Later on, he worked as an assistant for a number of fashion photographers and since 1984 he has been active as a stand-alone artist. Over the years, he has worked in New York, Paris, Milano and Prague, shooting photographs for fashion magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. He has been residing in Prague since 1990, assuming the post of Executive Art Director in the Czech edition of the Elle fashion magazine 1996 through 2003 and subsequently until 2009 in Czechoslovak Models advertising agency. Robert Vano is a fashion and commercial photographer. He mostly takes black-and-white portraits and nude art photography on standard celluloid, in addition to using the nowadays rarely used technique of platinotype. He has been working together with renowned brands and is in charge of a number of “Daylight Nude” workshops. He prefers to shoot by daylight.
