Profile
Sandro Palla was born in Switzerland in Locarno. After completing high school (classical studies), he graduated in dentistry from the University of Zurich and specialized in Switzerland and the United States. He was later appointed Full Professor at the University of Zurich, where he lives and works by alternating frequent visits to Treviso, Italy. He is now Professor Emeritus of his University.
At the end of his academic career, his photography undergoes a transformation, shifting away from its documentary nature to embrace a more expressive dimension. Driven by deep curiosity about human life, he captures figures, faces, traditions, and cultures under diverse skies. Influenced by the artistic sensibility inherited from his painter father, his photographs—initially a tool for scientific documentation—become a means of creating images that are decomposed and reassembled into “chromatic suggestions,” where color and form take on new, evocative meanings.
Sandro Palla’s technique can be described as a unique fusion of photography and painting, where he uses photographic elements as the foundation for creating painterly, almost dreamlike artworks. His approach involves applying brushstroke-like techniques to photographs, transforming them into visually rich and textured compositions-—a style he refers to as "PhotoBrush" or "brushstroke Photography", where images are reimagined as painterly artworks. Through careful manipulation of light, color, and form, he creates dynamic images that feel both real and surreal, often blurring the lines between reality and artistic interpretation.
His style captures the essence of a moment, not just through photographic precision, but with the expressive quality typically seen in traditional painting. The result is a powerful synthesis of artistic vision and photographic craft, where each image tells a story through both its photographic roots and painterly finish.
In essence, Palla’s work feels like photography that has been “painted” with light, capturing fleeting moments and emotions with a timeless, artistic depth.
Sandro Palla refined his photographic talent by attending courses and important workshops, also with Steve Mc Curry on a suggestive trip to Ethiopia.
He has exhibited in Italy and abroad receiving considerable interest.