‘Your Shape’: a unique Italian styling of the beard

The Italian artistic team is spearheaded by Milanese photographer Roberto Chierici and curator Erika Arosio, along with barbers Robert Briscolini and Giovanni Cibin. 

Your Shape - Pictures Roberto Chierici

This will be the New York launch of what has already been a triumphant photography project in Italy: a show that explores the masculine search for self —and how the male identity is expressed in the way he trims his beard. In photographs mounted on aluminum and Plexiglas, Roberto Chierici manages to capture the allure of an entirely masculine world. 

Men reflect on their own images through their beards—and this one feature is a versatile lens that can give importance not only the face but the identity in all its forms. Throughout history, a man’s beard has signified status; status of power, force, wisdom, and class. Every civilization and culture has used the beard as a distinct symbolic language. And now today, according to this artistic study, the implications are in fact psychological.

The models who posed for this exhibition were prepared by barbers Robert Briscolini (winner of the prize “Best Man Style 2015”) and Giovanni Cibin of Italian Style. 

They are nationally renowned barbers who’ve made beard-cultivation an integral part of their profession. They will be featured in a live performance during the opening night of the exhibition. The craft and vocation of the barber becomes almost divine in the skillful hands of these two, with each movement and gesture part of a near-sacred ritual. 

Your Shape has been hosted in renowned spaces and galleries such as La Reggia di Monza, it won the Italian Hairdresser Award in Rimini and in Rome, and was seen in the deconsecrated Church of St. Stephen in Milan. 

Opening Event Monday, March 14th, 2016 6pm-8pm 

Wook Choi Gallery  10 E 33rd St., 3rd floor New York, NY, 10016 
Your Shape