Brunelli was born on 21 May 1977 in Perugia, Italy. He grew up in the countryside and spent his childhood playing with animals. He graduated from university in Communications and took a six-month course in photojournalism in Rome where he had been living before moving to London.
Art/photography
Brunelli's medium is gelatin silver prints and he is a printer. He photographs with a Miranda Sensomat camera—a 35 mmSLR made in 1962 once belonged to his father, an amateur photographer. In a recent talk, he mentioned Italian Renaissance, Italian Medieval Art and street photography as his major influences. In 2016, Brunelli's image of the snarling dog was used in the movie The 9th Life of Louis Drax, directed by Alexandre Aja, during Jamie Dornan's hypnosis.
''The Animals'' (2004–2008)
Brunelli has photographed "animals in the countryside, backyards, fields and farms since 2004" in Italy. He calls this series "animal-focused street photography". His film noir aesthetic makes them "seem singled out or stopped in their tracks". He gets as close as his camera will allow, which "forces the animals to either flight or fight," at which point he photographs them. "It is all about capturing that moment of reaction, triggered through various approaches that vary from animal to animal. Whether it is ignoring them, running after them or using their natural curiosity for the shot." In 2008, The New Art Gallery Walsall will present his first museum show and in the same year Dewi Lewis Publishing publish the series.
''Eternal London'' (2012–2014)
In 2012, he was commissioned by The Photographers' Gallery in London to make the Eternal London series, which he worked on every day for two years creating a body of work between film noir, street photography and sculpture. The book was selected by Martin Parr and included in the "Strange and Familiar" exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London in 2017.
''Self Portraits'' (2010–2013)
In the summer 2010, while searching for animals in Umbria, Brunelli noticed his shadow projected on a white road and decided to start the Self Portraits series, which it will be completed in 2013. Brunelli says that he took inspiration from Arte Povera. The project will be published in Paris by Editions Bessard in 2016. Again using his film noir style, the silhouettes of people and animals are set against well known London landmarks. After following a person he wishes to photograph, "working discreetly, Brunelli often uses a removable viewfinder, to be able to photograph his subjects from waist height and other unusual angles, such as directly from behind and with extreme close-up", obscuring their faces. He uses "light, shadow and contrast to imbue his images with a dramatic atmosphere and a feeling of claustrophobia." In 2014 The Photographers' Gallery will exhibit the work in a solo show.
Between 2017 and 2019 he has produced his latest body of work to date on New York City, exhibited at The Photographers'Gallery in London in October 2019 and published in 2020 by Skinnerboox.
Venice (2020)
Brunelli is currently working in Venice for a new project to be released later in the year.
Monographs by Brunelli
New York. Skinnerboox. Jesi, 2020..
The Animals. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2008.. With an introduction by Alison Nordstrom.
*Second expanded edition. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2016.. With a foreword by Nordstrom.
The Animals, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, UK, 2008; Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR; The Photographers' Gallery, London, 2010; Transphotographiques, Lille, France, 2011.
Eternal London, The Photographers' Gallery, London, 2014.
Collections
Brunelli's work is held in the following public collections:
