Edo Bertoglio (Lugano, 1951) is a Swiss photographer and filmmaker naturalized Italian. After graduating in directing and editing from the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français (Paris 1975) he moved first to London, and then in 1976 to New York, where he stayed for 14 years. He worked as a photographer for several American, Japanese, French, and Italian fashion, art and costume magazines.
He was a regular contributor to Andy Warhol’s “Interview” magazine from 1978 to 1982. In 1981 he directed Downtown 81. The film chronicles a day in the life of then-unknown young artist Jean Michel Basquiat and is a cross-section of the vibrant New York art community of the early 1980s. Completed in 1999 after various vicissitudes, it was selected at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 in the “Directors’ Fortnight” section. In 2005 he finished his second film, Face Addict, which was successfully presented at the 58th Locarno International Film Festival. It is the story of the artistic community of New York in the late ‘70s—early ‘80s, known as Downtown Scene, a journey to rediscover New York 20 years later—
through the protagonists of the music and visual arts scene. He currently produces and directs documentaries for television and film, as well as photographic projects.
The artist has been collaborating with Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio for several years. We recall the “Finish Line” exhibition in 2009, and the book New York Polaroids 1976-1989, published by Yard Press.