Paolo Pellegrin

Paolo Pellegrin, born in Rome, initially studied architecture beginning in 1982 before discovering his passion lay in photography. He attended the Instituto Italiano di Fotografia in Rome from 1985 to 1987, and began to work as an assistant to several photographers while starting his first personal projects.

Pellegrin is known for his ability to traverse distinct subjects and themes within photography, yet maintain an artistic eye for images that are both spare and dramatic. After having worked unsatisfactorily in commercial and industrial photography, Pellegrin made the transition to photojournalism. The subjects with which he occupies himself include immigration, AIDS, terrorism and voodoo.

In 1995, Pellegrin began a project about the porn industry, on which he is still working. In various cities - Paris, Budapest, Los Angeles - he depicts the making of porn films. He shows what goes on both in front as well as behind the scenes: sex as a commodity, shown, often humorously, in a personal style. In 1996, Pellegrin was one of the participants of the World Press Master class, with a series about children in Bosnia.

Pellegrin has traveled all over the world, and has captured the effects of war and poverty on society. In 1995, he completed a reportage on AIDS in Uganda, which won him first prize at World Press Photo. Pellegrin went to Kosovo in 1999 to document the mass exodus of ethnic Albanians from the country, and their subsequent return as refugees. He partook in a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at the New York Fashion Week alongside fellow Italian and Magnum photographer Alex Majoli, and more recently traveled to Israel and joined the Israeli Army on a secret night mission--the only photographer ever allowed to do so.

Paolo Pellegrin became a Magnum nominee in 2001 and has been a full member since 2005. He is the winner of numerous awards, including the recently prestigious W. Eugene Smith Award, in 2006. He continues to live and work in Rome.