Gabriele Basilico (Milan, 1944 – 2013) was a leading Italian photographer and is considered to be one of the masters of contemporary Italian and European photography.
Basilico studied Architecture at Politecnico of Milan, receiving his MFA in 1973. After graduation he devoted himself to photography, with a primary focus on study of the transformation of the urban landscapes from the industrial to post-industrial era. The city, which has a central role in his works, is explored as a product of the economy and historical evolution of the society. The documentary style of his approach and constant narration of the same places that he visited again and again, helped him to construct a solid and well organized method of photographic inquiry.
Gabriele Basilico’s first solo museum exhibition was held at the Padiglione di Arte Contemporanea in Milan in 1983, displaying the series Milan. Portraits of Factories (1978-80), his first works dedicated to the industrial hinterland. In 1984 he joined the DATAR Mission Photographique, documenting the coastline of northern France and in 1991 he participated to the international photographic mission to Beirut where he returned again in three separate occasions in 2003, 2008 and 2011.
Basilico showed his work in many countries and was the recipient of multiple awards. His work features in many of the most important public and private international collections.

Gabriele Basilico, 1997, ph. Cosmo Laera. Courtesy Archivio Gabriele Basilico