PARIS.- The 19th edition of
Paris Photo opened at the Grand Palais, the cultural event for the discovery of photography through the world’s largest panorama of the medium, from its first expressions to the latest contemporary trends.
At the heart of the fair are 147 international galleries who bring to light the greatest talents in photography, each chosen for their prestige, the excellence of their represented artists and the quality of their projects to satisfy the fair's audience of collectors, art professionals, and enthusiasts. 27 specialized art book dealers and publishers join the fair, affirming the historic and artistic importance of the photobook.
PRISMES, inaugurated this year, is a new sector in the Salon d’Honneur, dedicated to the exploration of the photographic medium in all its forms. This edition, the accent is on exceptional large format and serial works presented by 11 prestigious galleries. PRISMES offers visitors a unique viewing experience of oeuvres rarely seen in their integrality.
Paris Photo once again promises a culturally rich programme with the Platform offering a cycle conversations over the course of four days; the Private Collection exhibition welcoming Italian collector, Enea Righi; as well as the exhibitions by our partners representing new talents and original projects. The 4th edition of the PhotoBook Awards, created in partnership Aperture Foundation, will acknowledge the work of 3 projects out over 1000 submitted. BOOK MACHINE (Paris Photo, Paris), is a new initiative launched this year, connecting emerging designers and public participants through the creation of books. After a call to submissions,thirty projects were designed and presented at the fair.
On the occasion of its 19th edition, Paris Photo inaugurates a new sector, PRISMES, with a selection of projects dedicated to serial works and projects outside the norm.
Since its origins, photography has generated a multiplication of images, integrating in certain cases the serial process at the heart of the work. The Double Elephant portfolio includes a collection of 60 historical works by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Walker Evans tracing the evolution of visual culture since the 30s.
Daido Moriyama, Japanese photographer of the 70s avant-garde, reflects on seriality in his work; an approach essentially perceptible in his numerous publications. And for the first time this year, Paris Photo unveils the entire set including 80 prints of Farewell Photography. The series Flower Love by Nobuyoshi Araki is also a magnificent expression of seriality. Considering life and photography as a whole, Araki presents an ensemble of 2000 Polaroids.
In Sleeping Portraits, a complete set from a larger series, Paul Graham leads us through an exploration of the ephemerality and the triviality of everyday life. The site-specific presentation incites reflection as the images enter into dialogue with one another. Rosalind Solomon Fox reveals the painful aspects of the human condition through her selection of photographs from Portraits in the Time of AIDS, 1988. Witness of the relentless struggle for survival, her poignant, disturbing and troubling images challenge the viewer.
In another vein, Stephan Schenk, an archaeologist with his eyes fixed to the earth, maps old battlefield grounds with a succession of large format photographs adapted into tapestries. Bae Bien-U’s desert landscapes take us beyond time between communion and harmony in the midst of pine forests, symbol of the soul of the Korean people. The uncontrollable nature devoid of human presence and disproportionate in size stretches to infinity in the expression of Boomoon.
Finally, Suzanne Lafont’s installation Situation Comedy and Index puts into perspective photographic work at the crossroads of disciplines. Between theater, literature and performance, she presents a work made from an image bank begun in 1987. Photos and texts projected in chance associations offer each visitor a unique visual experience.
