Robert Calafiore employs a hand-built pinhole camera to create large scale one-of-a-kind c-prints. His interest in process, traditional materials, and the reaction between light and chemistry, as well as the personal and universal stories told through every day objects and intimate relationships, drives the work in his studio practice. No digital tools are ever used.
Calafiore was born in New Britain, Connecticut to Italian immigrants. Both his early childhood and young adult experiences have played a significant role in shaping his interests and practice. Raised in a traditional Roman Catholic home and part of a large extended family, religious influence and strong ties to traditions and work ethic contributed in molding the way he relates to the world.
He received his MFA in Photography from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his BFA in Photography from Hartford Art School. Currently he lives and works in West Hartford, Connecticut, exhibiting his work nationally and internationally. The artist was awarded a Connecticut Artist Fellowship Grant for 2018, featured in a solo booth at PhotoFairs San Francisco, named the Second Sight Award artist speaker for Medium Festival of Photography in October 2018. He has been featured in publications such as Photograph Magazine, Diffusion Annual IX, Lenscratch and Collector Daily.
