Nick Brandt and WILLAS contemporary Receive Prestigious Awards in MILAN.
Ettore Molinario and Rossella Colombari Founders of Casa Museo Molinario-Colombari with Ellen K Willas. Photo by Nati De Cesare.
Casa Museo Molinario Colombari Award
– Visual Dialogues
Winner of the first edition: WILLAS contemporary, Stockholm, Sweden
Promoted by Casa Museo Molinario Colombari in Milan, this award honors a gallery whose exhibition design creates a harmonious dialogue between artworks, artists, and space, encouraging reflection on the diversity of artistic languages.
This year, the international jury has awarded WILLAS contemporary for its ability to construct a suspended atmosphere, where the boundary between the underwater world and the terrestrial realm dissolves. The exhibition transports the viewer into a space where nature blends with a distant, almost ethereal humanity, an echo resonating through the artworks on display.
WILLAS contemporary booth B029 at MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas - works by Jan C Schlegel and Helene Schmitz—Vintage console by IKEA, Wall colour Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball. © Mattia Micheli
WINNER OF THE BNL BNP Paribas AWARD
NICK BRANDT I SERAFINA AT TABLE, Fiji 2023 SINK / RISE - Chapter Three of The Day May Break I Courtesy WILLAS contemporary ENQUIRE
BNL BNP Paribas Award Goes to Nick Brandt
Now in its 14th edition, the BNL BNP Paribas Award is granted to the best artist among 15 finalists showcased at the fair. The winning work is acquired by the Bank, joining its prestigious collection of approximately 6,000 pieces, reinforcing its commitment to supporting talent and promoting photography in Italy.
The 2025 winning artwork is "Serrafina at Table" by Nick Brandt, presented by WILLAS contemporary - Stockholm.
The jury recognized Brandt’s work for its powerful reflection on climate change.
A woman, seated at a table underwater, embodies an unsettling sense of normalcy, creating a stark contrast with the urgency of the environmental crisis. Through art and photography, the image urges contemplation on the profound transformations of our time, in a world undergoing continuous change.
WILLAS contemporary x MIA PHOTO FAIR 2025
We are pleased to announce our participation at MIA PHOTO FAIR BNP PARIBAS in Milan in March, with a strong selection of recent works by Nick Brandt, Jan C. Schlegel and Helene Schmitz exploring the delicate balance of life on Earth in the Anthropocene era. The exhibition examines the interconnections between ecosystems, human survival, and environmental changes that shape our planet's future.
We present works from Chapters Three and Four of Nick Brandt’s ongoing series The Day May Break, a global series portraying people and animals impacted by climate change, environmental degradation and destruction.
Chapter Three, SINK / RISE (2023) was photographed underwater in Fiji. A pre-apocalyptic vision, it features local people who are representatives of those whose homes, land and livelihood will be lost as the water rises.
Chapter Four, The Echo of Our Voices (2024), was photographed in Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. It features rural families who fled the war in Syria, now living lives of constant displacement due to climate change. The Echo of Our Voices was partially funded by Gallerie d’Italia Museum, Turin, Italy.
Jan C. Schlegel's Life on Earth (2024) series reveals phytoplankton's hidden beauty and critical importance through exquisite handmade platinotype prints. Schlegel’s work highlights the fragility of marine ecosystems and their vital role in sustaining life on our planet.
Helene Schmitz's series entitled Studies in Falling (2023) are photographs of Danish coastlines that evoke classical landscape paintings while exposing the threats of climate change and the cyclical nature of human intervention. Schmitz’s work illustrates how our actions contribute to environmental degradation, even as we attempt to mitigate its effects.
Three artists' perspectives on environmental change are brought together in a visual meditation on our interconnectedness with the planet. We encourage visitors to reflect on our place within nature's delicate balance and the potential consequences of our actions. Do we have the capacity to reimagine our connection with nature? How will we write the next chapter of our relationship with Mother Earth?
MIA PHOTO FAIR BNP PARIBAS - BOOTH B029.
20-23 March 2025 at Superstudio Più – via Tortona 27, Milan
ALL WORKS PRESENTED AT MIA
NICK BRANDT - Serafina at Table, Fiji 2024 Archival Pigment Print - Courtesy WILLAS contemporary INQUIRE
NICK BRANDT
Echo of our Voices and SINK / RISE
(from Chapters Three and Four of the ongoing global series The Day May Break).
Chapter Three of The Day May Break; SINK / RISE (2023) was photographed underwater in Fiji. A pre-apocalyptic vision, it features local people who are representatives of those whose homes, land and livelihood will be lost as the water rises.
Also on view are works from Chapter Four, The Echo of Our Voices (2024), photographed in Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. It features rural families who fled the war in Syria, now living lives of constant displacement due to climate change. The Echo of Our Voices was partially funded by Gallerie d’Italia Museum, Turin, Italy.
NICK BRANDT - SHORT BIO
Nick Brandt, a British photographer, captures the devastating effects of climate change on vulnerable communities and on the animal and natural world. His powerful images document the intersection of human struggles and environmental collapse, highlighting the urgent need for environmental protection and climate action.
His early photographic series include the trilogy On This Earth, A Shadow Falls Across The Ravaged Land (2001-2012); Inherit the Dust (2016); This Empty World (2019), all photographed in East Africa.
Since 2020, he has been working on The Day May Break, an ongoing global series. Chapter One (2021) was photographed in Kenya and Zimbabwe, Chapter Two (2022) in Bolivia, Chapter Three, SINK / RISE in Fiji (2023) and Chapter Four, The Echo of our Voices in Jordan (2024).
NICK BRANDT - The Cave, Jordan 2024 Archival Pigment Print - Courtesy WILLAS contemporary INQUIRE
JAN C. SCHLEGEL - Life on Earth – Pythoplankton Plate #43 Edition #3/6 - Courtesy WILLAS contemporary INQUIRE
JAN C. SCHLEGEL
Life on Earth
Life on Earth is a series of 50 handmade platinotype prints revealing the hidden beauty of phytoplankton, microscopic organisms essential to life on Earth. These tiny creatures produce most of the planet's oxygen, form the base of marine food chains, and regulate the climate. Life on Earth sheds light on the critical balance of Earth's carbon cycle and the threats posed by ocean acidification, climate change and microplastic pollution. While his project highlights alarming challenges, it also offers hope through innovative conservation efforts and the resilience of marine ecosystems.
JAN C. SCHLEGEL - SHORT BIO
Jan C. Schlegel is renowned internationally for his distinctive black-and-white images that capture the planet's beauty and diversity. His dedication to traditional photographic printing methods, such as platinotype, ambrotype, and silver-gelatin prints, combined with his own innovative techniques, renders each of his hand-crafted prints unique and enduring. Schlegel's journey into photography began at age nine, leading him to professional training in the field. His work has been showcased internationally in solo shows and at art fairs and is part of several influential collections.
HELENE SCHMITZ - Thin Line 2023 - Archival Pigment Print Diasec mounted in walnut frame
Courtesy WILLAS contemporary INQUIRE
HELENE SCHMITZ
Studies in Falling
European coastlines face threats from rising sea levels and erosion. Schmitz documented the Danish coast, where limestone bedrock is quarried for cement production. Helene's photographs evoke classical landscape paintings while hinting at threats caused by climate change.
Schmitz highlights how limestone processing for cement production contributes to CO₂ emissions, which in turn exacerbate climate change and rising sea levels. Concrete embankments built to protect against flooding perpetuate this destructive cycle involving human activities, climate change, and natural forces.
HELENE SCHMITZ - SHORT BIO
Helene Schmitz explores humanity's complex relationship with nature and the elements through photography. Her work reflects on change and transformation in the natural world, capturing the interplay between human culture and nature. Recently, she has focused on how human activities shape the contemporary landscape. Schmitz has exhibited widely in Sweden and internationally, with solo shows in New York, Paris, Tallinn, and Oslo. Her work is in major collections and featured in award-winning books published in collaboration with writers, philosophers, and historians.