Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea is pleased to present Massimo Vitali's newest series of work, dedicated to American Beaches. Taken in the summer of 2006 and shown in an exclusive preview at Brancolini Grimaldi, the photographs illustrate Vitali's first exploration of the American landscape. In his unmistakable style, Massimo Vitali documents the most crowded and well-known New York beaches: the coast of Long Island, Jones Beach, Coney Island, Fire Island, and the Hamptons. The exhibition at Brancolini Grimaldi is the first extensive solo show of Massimo Vitali in his Italian gallery since his retrospective exhibition at the Museo Pecci in Prato in 2004, which also travelled to the Lentos Kuntsmuseum in Linz in 2005. The gallery also presents the first portfolio of Massimo Vitali, containing 52 reproductions (90x70cm) of his most significant and captivating pieces, published by Steidl in a limited edition of 120 exemplars. Massimo Vitali's photographs examine everyday life and the trend of passing vacations in places of mass tourism. Vitali observes crowds with an attitude of detachment. His subjects are never posed; He does not seek to form a photographic composition with the camera, but rather lets the composition form itself. The large format images allow Vitali to delve into the reality of each scene, thus truthfully illustrating the details of our social behavior. Considered one of the most important contemporary Italian photographers, Massimo Vitali's pieces have appreciated more than 30% in value over the past three years. With an ever greater demand within the market from important collectors, Vitali's photographs maintain consistent and elevated results at auction: In February of 2006 at Sotheby's in London, a Vitali work sold for 38.400USD, setting a new record for the highest price paid at auction for a contemporary Italian photographer. Vitali is also among the few selected artists being exhibited at the Tate Modern in London as part of the prestigious UBS collection. The works of Massimo Vitali are present in important international collections, including: The Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; The Guggenheim, New York; Ella Fontanals Cisneros Collection, Miami; UBS Collection; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Fondation Cartier, Paris; Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz; His photographs are also regularly present in the circuit of leading contemporary art fairs, including: Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, and the Armory Show.