Patrizio Di Renzo (born May 6, 1971 in Zug, Switzerland) is a Swiss photographer and director.

Bio

At 16, Di Renzo begins training as an industrial photographer, which he concludes successfully after three years. At that time, his work did not involve fashion photography. Di Renzo then travels to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where he works as an assistant to Bruno Bisang for two years, which is followed by a period of a few years working as a freelance photographer in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. At the beginning of the nineties, Di Renzo leaves Italy to make first experiences in the field of fashion photography. Amongst others, he works in

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for fashion magazines such as

Harper’s Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

and

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

. In 2001, Di Renzo returns to Switzerland for a short time to work as an advertising and fashion photographer. A few years later, his work draws the attention of fashion designer

Tsumori Chisato is a Japanese fashion designer. Tsumori was born in Saitama, and attended Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College. She began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 under the "Issey Sports" line, which was later renamed "I.S. Chisato Tsumori Designs." With the ...

who commissions him for an international campaign as well as a store concept. During this period, Di Renzo – who in the meantime, has moved to New York/Los Angeles – takes up work on his first book of photographs, „Portraits of Illusions“. The photo book tells short stories with pictures taken, amongst others, in Ireland, New York, and the Seychelles. The photos intentionally drift away from reality - Di Renzo’s motto being: Move away from Realism. The book was published in 2006, with a preface by critic Gabriel Bauret. During this time, Di Renzo works with, amongst others,

Devon Aoki Devon Edwenna Aoki (born August 10, 1982) is an actress and fashion model. Aoki's film roles include supporting roles in ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003) and ''Sin City'' (2005) and lead roles in '' DOA: Dead or Alive'' (2006) and ''Mutant Chronicles ...

, Chloë Sevigny,

Natalia Vodianova Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova ( rus, Наталья Михайловна Водянова, , nɐˈtalʲjə mʲɪˈxajləvnə vədʲɪˈnovə; born 28 February 1982), nicknamed Supernova, is a Russian model, actress and United Nations Goodwill ...

, Dean&Dan ( DSQUARED). In 2005, Di Renzo returns to Switzerland and opens a photo studio in Baar. 2010 marks Di Renzo’s debut as a music clip producer for Italian singer

Enzo Fertitta Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin America bu ...

and as the director of his first video installation, for

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hiroshi ...

. In recent projects Di Renzo worked with

Rie Rasmussen Rie Rasmussen (born 14 February 1978) is a Danish actress, film director, writer, model, and photographer. Film After attending film school as a writer-director, Rasmussen made her breakthrough in the film industry when she acted in Brian De Pa ...

, Iekeliene Stange and Mads Mikkelsen. Di Renzo’s second book, “Merlin’s Dream”, in which he stages Merlin’s dreams with flowers, was published in October 2010. “Merlin’s Dream” was published by Swiss publishing house Zauberkind, with a foreword by

Artwork

Di Renzo’s work is characterized by its distance to the real world. You could describe him as a director who combines the magic with the sensual; the romantic with the lascivious; the naive with the erotic - and thus creates a unique dream world.

Literature

Art Books

*''Portraits of Illusions'', *''Merlin's Dream'',

External links

Di Renzo's Homepage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Renzo, Patrizio Living people 1971 births Swiss photographers Industrial photographers