This intimate, human-scale event, which highlights contemporary photography, wrapped up on September 1 after three days. Nine galleries each showcased solo exhibitions, following the biennial format introduced in 2018. Launched by CPM director Erick Gudimard, the fair also inaugurated a new artist’s book prize, recognizing the growing importance of books as a creative medium for photographers.
The first prize went to Elie Monferier for his self-produced Journal des Mines, with all fifty copies crafted by the artist himself. Additionally, a prize was awarded to three photographers based in the South of France who do not have gallery representation: Driss Aroussi (b. 1979, Morocco), Eleonora Paciullo (b. 1993, Italy), and Marion Ellena (b. 1992, Venezuela). The winners, selected by a jury of experts* from a shortlist of ten (among the total of 86 submissions), will exhibit their work in 2025 at Galerie Sit Down in Paris and Espace Jörg Brockmann in Geneva.
A highlight of the event was a carte blanche exhibition by collectors Galiana–Wiart, dedicated to Antoine d’Agata. Alongside this, CPM inaugurated Grzegorz Przyborek’s exhibition, which was displayed alongside works from the CPM collection by artists like Dieter Appelt, Aaron Siskind, Laurent Millet, and Tom Drahos, creating a harmonious interplay of styles.
Grzegorz Przyborek’s Visual Enigmas
Though celebrated in Poland, Przyborek’s work remains relatively unknown in France. His artistic journey began in the early 1990s at the Arles School of Photography, where he studied as a foreign guest student. It was there that he met Erick Gudimard, who invited him to present a career-spanning retrospective—his first major exhibition in France.
This exhibition, featuring drawings, objects, and photographs, reveals the meticulous creative process of Przyborek, born in Łódź in 1948. His work starts with a memory, reflection, or question, which he meticulously develops through three stages: an initial, highly detailed pencil sketch, followed by the creation of intricate object-sculptures, and finally, a photograph staged and shot in his Łódź studio-apartment, where he has lived for decades. He attributes his imagination to his childhood neighborhood, stating, “It’s a world that has deeply influenced my imagination. The place remains in my memory, creating a unique reservoir of inspiration.”
The exhibition invites visitors to navigate this imaginative world, where Przyborek’s drawings, objects, and photographs interact in the intimate spaces of the CPM. These elements work together, unlocking the poetic and enigmatic atmosphere encapsulated in the title Touching Silence. Despite the surreal feel of his images, everything in them is real—Przyborek eschews digital editing, preferring instead to manipulate physical elements, such as rotating a print 180° to defy gravity. This tactile approach intensifies the sense of wonder in his work, while emphasizing its thoughtful craftsmanship.
“It’s because we trust photography to tell the truth that it has the power to astonish us,” Przyborek reflects. By toying with this expectation, he transforms everyday scenes into thought-provoking images. For instance, he turns the empty tombs of the Saint-Romain monastery in Arles into classical portraits, and in his Souvenirs d’Arles series, he captures a fleeting sunset in a piece titled Petit Univers, remarking: “I know no photograph could ever truly capture the experience.”
Przyborek constructs reality, rather than merely capturing it; though his work remains anchored in the present, as seen in his series reflecting on the Covid-19 pandemic. In the end, his work challenges us to reconsider reality through the lens of imagination.
Grzegorz Przyborek, Touching Silence. Until September 21, 2024 at Centre Photographique Marseille, 74, rue de la Joliette, 13002 Marseille.
* Pascal Beausse, head of the CNAP photographic collections; Françoise Bornstein Bornstein, director of the Sit Down gallery (Paris); Florence Bourgeois, director of Paris Photo (Paris); Jörg Brockmann, director of Espace Jörg Brockmann (Geneva); Caroline Stein, Head of Patronage and Collection Curator, Banque Neuflize OBC; Arina Essipowitsch, winner of the 2021 Prix Polyptyque; Didier Wèbre, President of the Digitale Zone and member of Mécènes du Sud.
