This year, the first event linked to Paris Photo is inevitably the return to the Grand Palais, the venue where the fair has been held since 2011 and which has undergone 2 years of major renovations. The second event is a carte blanche given to Jim Jarmusch, the American director and screenwriter, and a prestigious guest. To celebrate the centenary of Surrealism, Paris Photo has invited the filmmaker, an avid photography enthusiast, to propose an itinerary of works in the fair. This is accompanied by a public conversation with the artist at the Grand Palais and the theatrical release of the film Return to Reason. The film Return to Reason, which brings together four newly restored Man Ray films for which Jim Jarmusch composed the original score, is being previewed in two Paris cinemas on the occasion of the fair.
Today, Paris Photo boasts no fewer than 240 exhibitors from 34 countries, including 147 galleries and 24 newcomers from the international scene. Thousands of photographs by artists from all over the world, exhibited side by side: an experience that can be intense, even stifling, but that always reserves a few surprises and pleasant discoveries. Above all, the fair has established itself over the last few years as an event where you can discover exhibitions produced by astute curators, with a real artistic purpose, which prove to be important breaths of fresh air in an atmosphere where the sale of works remains the main objective. “We wanted to build a fair that not only celebrates the great names in photography, but also opens up dialogues between historical works and contemporary practices,” says Florence Bourgeois, director of Paris Photo.
At the entrance to the Grand Palais, Pace Gallery presents a fine exhibition dedicated to Robert Frank, who is also featured at Thomas Zander, exploring his influence on subsequent generations, and at publisher Steidl, highlighting his editorial work. A fine tribute to the legendary American photographer, following that of MoMA in New York.
MUUS Collection’s “Larry Fink, Sensual Empathy” features another humanist American who recently passed away. Here we find everything that makes his photographs historical documents: his depiction of American society, both high society and working class, his fascination with people and their interactions, his attendance at balls, society soirees, demonstrations, boxing matches, and his documentation of the inhabitants of rural Pennsylvania. Always with the same bold framing and masterful chiaroscuro, and with the same urgency, immediacy and profound sensitivity.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Surrealist Manifesto. Resonating with this anniversary, several works by Man Ray at Bruce Silverstein (New York), Edwynn Houk (New York) and Les Douches (Paris), meet those by Kati Horna at Sophie Scheidecker (Paris) as well as an unpublished portfolio by Manuel Álvarez Bravo at RGR (Mexico). Other contemporary projects offer a dialogue with the Surrealist heritage, such as that of the wonderful Jack Davidson at Cob (London). This 34-year-old autodidact, whose elegant, timeless photographs are all the rage with fashion magazines and major brands, also loves deliberately enigmatic images and cultivates the culture of blur.
Solo shows at gallery stands include a retrospective of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work at Fraenkel (San Francisco), exploring time and memory through photographs and video installations. A little further afield, at In-Dependance, we also discover Blue Skies, a series of 1,078 photographs of blue skies captured on the sites of former Nazi camps, tackling the themes of trauma and commemoration. A daring work in an economic context where galleries generally prefer to bet on sure values, such as vintage prints and photographs by the most famous artists of the 20th century.
Dedicated sectors
If you want to see highly contemporary works, experiments and visions that reflect the times we live in, you’ll have to turn to the sectors that Paris Photo dedicates to new creations.
The Emergence sector, on the second floor, is a good example. Designed by Anna Planas, it offers an exploration of the contemporary art scene at its most creative. The 23 solo shows supported by young galleries highlight the diversity of techniques and themes, pushing experimentation with the medium towards new voices. From engagement with contemporary issues to research into our perception through to abstraction, the exhibition shows the ongoing dynamic of a new generation of artists. Particularly noteworthy are the series by Alice Pallot and Letizia Le Fur.
The Digital Sector is present for the second year running. As its name suggests, this is a section dedicated to photography in the digital age. Under the direction of Nina Roehrs, a specialist in art in the digital age, the space presents a selection of 15 contemporary art galleries and curated platforms at the cutting edge of new technologies, showcasing artists who integrate digital into their work. Five thematic group shows and ten artist solo shows by international exhibitors, offer a panorama of photography at the intersection of technology and digitalization in the nave of the Grand Palais. “The curatorial approach highlights artists who not only engage with new media, but whose work reflects the profound impact of technological revolutions on our lives, society and the economy,” explains Nina Roehrs.
This year, the fair is also launching the Voices sector, curated by three artists around contemporary themes, with the aim of highlighting an artistic scene or practice in the medium. The works presented in Voices come from artists of different generations, reflecting the rich and complex contemporary art scene in Latin America. Through their creations, these artists explore a multitude of themes: from experimental series to profound reflections on the construction of identity and the body, through explorations of political or sexual dissidence, as well as works on the very nature of photography. “I want to show the vitality of the art scene in Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, exploring both historical photography and contemporary artists who are pushing back the boundaries of the medium,” illustrates Elena Navarro, FotoMexico Founder.
Private collections
Another special feature of Paris Photo: exhibitions dedicated to private collections. Let’s start with “The Forms of Skulls, Forms of Love”, which on the second floor of the Grand Palais brings together Lithuanian photographs from the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Centre Pompidou and the Union of Lithuanian Photographers. At the end of the 1970s, when Lithuania had been under Soviet domination for three decades, over 1,600 prints by 22 photographers joined the collections of today’s BnF via successive donations from their authors. Focusing on a generation of photographers mainly active between 1960 and 1980, this collection reveals a highly expressive scene and secular, even metaphysical themes: a pantheistic relationship with nature and the animal world, the coexistence of generations, existential anguish. Although little known to the public today, the Lithuanian school of photography enjoyed great prestige throughout the Soviet Union and beyond. Painful memories of the country’s recent past, rekindled by current crises, and a new relationship with nature in the age of global environmental challenges, have modified artistic practices and renewed photographers’ outlook on a world that continues to worry.
Another collection is worth noting: that of Fnac, a French multinational retail chain specializing in the sale of entertainment media and consumer electronics. Quentin Bajac, director of the Jeu de Paume, has chosen from among the 1,800 works in the collection a selection linked to the question of the “gaze”, the title chosen for the book published under his direction, Regards. Un siècle de photographie, de Brassaï à Martin Parr. Models looking at the photographer, images suggesting a gaze on an off-camera area, shots built on the interplay of multiple gazes. Some thirty original works are on display.
Last but not least, Maxime Riché’s Paradise series, exhibited as part of the Dahinden photo prize, aims to promote more responsible creation and eco-design in the arts, and to raise public awareness of environmental issues. From 2020 to 2021, the French photographer documented the ravages of mega-fires in Paradise, California. His sumptuous landscapes captured on infrared film and the raw portraits of his survivors offer a singular look at this climatic catastrophe.
Paris Photo, November 7-10, 2024 at the Grand Palais, in Paris.
