Giorgio Giacobbi was born in Venice in 1921 and went on to to elevate the city to a key centre of global photography through his promotion of the influential photography society La Gondola and in particular when he was instrumental in creating the Venice Photography Biennials.
An eclectic personality, he successfully tried his talent in different genres: reportage, portrait, research, always with excellent results. However, it was in his street photography that he shone. Like all the great masters of the "decisive moment" Giacobbi's images can appear to be hastily taken snapshots. But Giacobbi was a more complex photographer than might appear at first sight; on the one hand he shows an impeccable stylistic mastery, on the other a depth of thought that goes beyond the reality represented, anticipating in some cases that conceptual photography that, despite many difficulties, would impose itself towards the end of the 1960s. He felt that "every picture tells a story" and his work has a cinematic feel.
Giacobbi's work has been widely acknowledged, reviewed by major magazines and published globally.
He joined La Gondola in 1949 and became president from 1953 until 1960 during which time he organized the famous Photography Biennials , which brought major international artists to Venice.
Beside being a photographer, he was an essayist, poet and excellent jazz pianist drawing his inspiration from Bill Evans. He died in his beloved Venice in 2015.