About

Debora Barnaba is a Milan-based visual artist whose work transcends traditional photography, exploring the body as a universal visual language. Her artistic practice transforms physical forms into profound narratives, where each body part becomes like a letter in an alphabet, composing different poems and meanings that transcend their physical nature.

Throughout her career, she has collaborated with influential photographers including Giovanni Gastel and Oliviero Toscani, and her work has been featured in prestigious publications such as Vogue, L'Officiel, and Marie Claire. Her pieces have graced notable venues including Art-Icon (Paris), Palacio de Lombillo (Havana), and PhotoLondon, earning recognition from both critics and collectors across Europe.

In her ongoing artistic research, Barnaba creates compelling visual narratives that challenge conventional perspectives on human essence. Each piece emerges through a process of observation and intuitive development, where the final result often reveals unexpected depths and meanings beyond the initial vision.

Through her lens, the body becomes a medium for expressing life, emotions, and worldviews. Her work invites viewers into an intimate dialogue about human connection and perception, where technical precision meets emotional resonance to create lasting visual conversations.

Solo exhibitions

2024 BODYlicious, Ghiggini Gallery, Varese, Italy

2022 Body architecture, Ghiggini Gallery, Varese, Italy

2019 .nedt, IBSA special project, Milan, Italy

2013 Debora Barnaba: Untitled show, Theca Gallery, Lugano, Swiss

Selected group exhibitions

2025 Sex and politics, Art-Icon, Paris, France

2025 Cremona Art Fair, with Ghiggini Gallery, Italy

2024 Corporeality, Art-Icon, Paris, France

2023 Miradas Compartidas, Palacio de Lombillo, L’Avana, Cuba

2023 Hot topic, curated by Eileen Ghiggini, Ghiggini Gallery, Varese, Italy

2023 Presenze contemporanee, curated by Paolo Feroce, PAM Museum, Caserta, Italy

2022 #MFM1# Excitatio, curated by Francesca Interlenghi, Spazio Maria Calderara, Milano, Italy

2021 Femme et fatale, Fondazione Matalon, Milan, Italy

2020 PhotoLondon Fair, Podbielski gallery, London

2020 Pleasure Garden, curated by Pierre Podbielski, Podbielski Gallery, Milan, Italy

2020 50 Liceo Artistico, Villa Mirabello Museum, Varese, Italy

2019 ContemporaneaMENTI, exhibition of the finalists of the prize, Fondazione Arsenale, Iseo, Italy

2019 Incarnato, curated by Chiara Gatti, Ghiggini Gallery, Varese, Italy

2018 Artisti a Venezia, curated by Daniela Accorsi, Accorsi Gallery, Venice, Italy

2017 Carte esposte, curated by Annalisa Fanti, Theca Gallery, Milan, Italy

2017 Biennale di Genova, Palazzo Stella, Genova, Italy

2017 Nude, Cortina Gallery, Milan, Italy 

2017 Kunst lives matter, Marzia Frozen Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2014 White light/White heat, Theca Gallery, Lugano, Swiss

2013 Corpo a corpo, Hangart, Pavia, Italy

2012 Il paesaggio contemporaneo, Deodato Arte, Milan, Italy

2012 Nonsolocorpisoli, I Macelli, Florence, Italy

2011 Circuiti dinamici, Circolo culturale Bertolt Brecht, Milan, Italy

2010 Locus animae, Palazzo del Turismo, Jesolo, Italy

2010 Artparty, Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Castello di Masnago, Varese, Italy

2008 Cristalli di Rocca, curated by Carolina Lio, Rocca Grimalda, Italy

Prizes

2025 Finalist at Museum of Avanguarde, Mendrisio, Swiss

2021 Bronze at Paris Photo prize, Paris

2019 Winner of the photographry prize at ContemporaneaMENTI, Fondazione Arsenale Iseo, Italy

2018 Finalist at C.O.C.A. Prize for photography, Italy

2017 Winner of the critique prize, Genova Biennale, Italy

2017 Mention by the jury, The Independent Photographer award

2014 Third at Serbelloni Prize, Milan, Italy

2012 Finalist at Premio Giovani Artisti Borgomanero, III edition

2012 Third classified, Premio Ghiggini Arte Giovani XI edition

2011 Special mention by the jury, Giovani Artisti Borgomanero, II edition

Selected bibliography - Books and Exhibitions catalogues

AAVV., Corporeality, cat. Exhibition, Art-Icon, Paris, 2024

AAVV., ContemporaneaMENTI, cat. Exhibition, Arsenale Iseo, 2019

AAVV., Biennale di Genova, cat. Exhibition, AGF Edizioni, 2017

AAVV., Regione Lombardia: four seasons of beauty, Regione Lombardia, 2017

BONOMI Giorgio, Il corpo solitario vol.2, Rubettino Editore, 2017

AAVV., Expo Tales, Regione Lombardia, 2015

BARNABA Debora, Mondrian: Arte come percezione della forma invisibile, Edizioni Accademiche Italiane, 2015

AAVV., Pasottiade, Silvio Pasotti dal 1933, Skira Ed, 2015

BARNABA Debora, White catalogue, White Milano, jan. 2015

AAVV., La Varese che vorrei, 80 contributors, Associazione Parentesi and Lions Club Varese Host Ed, 2014

AAVV., 12 Riflessi, cat. exhibition, Francesco Brioschi Ed, 2014

AAVV., Premio giovani artisti, cat. exhibition, Italgrafica Ed, 2012

AAVV., Ghiggini arte, cat. exhibition, 2012

BARNABA Debora, Visioni del vuoto: Varese, Arterigere Ed, 2011

AAVV., Premio giovani artisti, cat. exhibition, Italgrafica Ed, 2011

IOVINE Sandro, Il Fotografo, Kissing me, magazine, Sprea Ed, 2010

AAVV., Locus animae, rassegna d'arte contemporanea quinto episodio, cat. exhibition, Nextitalia, 2010

AAVV., Artparty, sferica, cat. exhibition, Quir Ed, 2010

AAVV., Circuiti dinamici, cat. exhibition, Seriart Ed, 2010

AAVV., Ghiggini arte, cat. exhibition, 2010

TOSCANI Oliviero e ALTRI, Santo Spirito, La Sterpaia Ed, 2009

AAVV., Cristalli di Rocca, cat. exhibition, 2008