SCHOKOLADENFABRIK, HANS FINSLER

San Giorgio in Poggiale, Bologna, 2021

At the heart of Foto/Industria 2021 is the food industry, a theme of fundamental importance due to its inextricable link to wider questions of philosophy and biology, history and science, politics and economics.

Hans Finsler specialized in the representation of objects since the beginning of his career. This exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Rolla Foundation, is entirely dedicated to a specific series created in 1928 by the Swiss photographer, commissioned by the German confectionery factory Most. The only subjects are the company’s products, chocolate and marzipan miniatures depicted in great detail thanks to a particular combination of technical ability and philosophical minutiae. The sweets are treated as unique works of artisanal and industrial brilliance. This photographic series represents a middle ground between an advertising communication and the recognition of authentic sculptural values.

The original setup of the library, designed by Michele De Lucchi, consists of an array of bookshelves with a reading stand for the volumes. A new delicate framework of different wooden elements overlaps to the existing furniture. Thus creating a new rythm and a small shift able to convert a reading room into an exhibition space.