Simone Martinetto (Turin, 1980) holds a degree in Philosophy, with a thesis on the concept of time in photography. He works as a photographer, filmmaker, artist and photography teacher.

He began photographing at a young age, after receiving his grandfather’s camera—who, shortly before passing away, gave him a few essential pieces of advice that would mark the beginning of his path.

His artistic research primarily uses photography, while also incorporating video, installation and writing. Through a strongly emotional and evocative visual language, he tells often minimal stories charged with deep symbolic meaning. His work is a continuous investigation into memory, freedom, coincidence, relationships, dreams and the inner imagination.

He has exhibited in over sixty exhibitions across Europe and the United States, including venues such as the Frost Art Museum (Miami), ISCP Gallery and 49B Studios (New York), Claudio Bottello Contemporary (Turin), the Cineteca di Bologna and the Farnesina (Rome), as well as the Italy–China Biennale at the Arca in Vercelli. His works have also been featured in numerous major photography and contemporary art festivals, including the Festival International de la Photographie Sociale (Paris), SI FEST (Savignano sul Rubicone), Creativamente Roero and Jeune Création Européenne.

He has received several awards, including the First Prize at Portfolio Italia – Gran Premio Epson (2004), SI FEST (2004), Giovane Talento Fotografico FNAC (2004), Cliciak (2005 and 2009), Premio Luca Pron (2011) and the ISCP New York Prize (2011), which led to a residency in New York supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

As a still photographer for cinema, he has worked on around twenty major film productions, collaborating with directors and actors such as Marco Bellocchio, Saverio Costanzo, Giuliano Montaldo, Lina Wertmüller, Isabella Rossellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Kasia Smutniak, Margherita Buy, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Marinelli, Giancarlo Giannini, Ninetto Davoli, Giuseppe Battiston, Bérénice Bejo and Emmanuelle Devos.

As a filmmaker, he directed the documentary Beati! La gioia non è mai al singolare, premiered in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore within the “Sotto le stelle del cinema” programme curated by the Cineteca di Bologna.

As a teacher, he has worked with over 2,500 students aged between 3 and 90, leading workshops, courses and seminars at the University of Bologna, the Municipality of Turin, private schools of photography and cinema, and numerous high schools, including Liceo Artistico Arcangeli and Liceo Galvani in Bologna. He received the Arte Plurale award for his teaching work in a photographic workshop with participants affected by psychiatric disorders.

He has published the photographic books Senza la memoria and Il lavoro quotidiano (Pazzini Editore), and contributed to the volume Nonostante la vostra cortese ospitalità. Fotografia e disagio mentale oggi (Quinlan). His photographs have appeared in major Italian periodicals and in catalogues and book covers.

His work has been discussed by critics and figures including Claudio Marra, Francesco Poli, Marisa Vescovo, Patrizia Rossello, Olga Gambari and Marco Bellocchio.