Sanpaolesi’s Photos Reflect a Sense of Place

In his second, moving show at Craig Krull gallery, Italian photographer Tito Sanpaolesi presents a dozen framed moments dense with character, narrative possibility, and the familiar, poignant texture of time passing.

From above, Sanpaolesi shoots (in black and white) down onto a stained, raw wooden table, one that reeks of rustic living, honest and tough. Completing the scene are a man’s hands resting on the table’s edge and a small, half-emptied glass between them. The sweater is coarse, the hands experienced, rough and dirty around the nails. Only a tiny wedge of this man’s reality is revealed here, but it’s a ripe and rich one, just begging to tell its stories.

In another image, Sanpaolesi shoots toward an open window, its sheer curtains billowing out into the night air. The curtains part slightly, leaving a crescent-shaped gap, through which we see the moon--or perhaps just a bright streetlight, a shimmering white orb floating in the darkness, perfectly framed. A dreamy, grainy image of fantasy and escape, it’s as though Sanpaolesi managed to photograph a fairy tale.

Based in his native Florence, Sanpaolesi photographs internationally. The images here, shot in New York, Argentina, Italy and Namibia, each evoke a strong sense of place, though not necessarily a specific geographic locale. Sanpaolesi’s sensibility is that of the poetic humanist, relishing the details in space and structure that tell of lives lived within them. When he shoots a street bisected by a shiny scar of tar, an eye embraced by a delicate web of wrinkles, a foot as caked and dusty as the dirt it pushes off from, his glimpse of the particular resonates with the universal.

Craig Krull Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 828-6410, through April 6. Closed Sunday and Monday.