Paris may truly be the photography capital of the world, not only for the sheer amount of high-quality photo exhibitions you can find at one given time, but also for the fact that Paris being such a walkable city, you can visit many by foot.
Had two days to wander in Paris this week, one at the beginning, the other at the end of a short business trip. Spent all that time visiting some absolutely beautiful and inspiring exhibitions. First, the brilliant Martin Parr and Jo Ractliffe shows at the Jeu de Paume. Both were extraordinary, but the real discovery for me was Jo Ractliffe's both beautiful and tragic black and white South African landscapes, whose scars are intelligently captured as witness to the history of the apartheid years.
jeudepaume.org
The Martin Parr exhibit was also brilliantly curated, with a huge amount of photos on the walls, organized thematically. It was nice to go beyond the usual "Martin Parr's Greatest Hits" to have a much deeper sense of what his entire output was about — less humorous and much more cynical and tragic than we usually think. Only problem with this exhibit was that it is so popular — I went on a Saturday, which should be avoided if possible — that you could barely see the works, and certainly not stop to spend time contemplating one or the other. All these people taking photos of the photos on their cell phones was, well, very Martin-Parr-ish, to say the least.
jeudepaume.org
Next was a Danny Lyon exhibition in the small galery in le Marais called La Galerie Rouge. Very disappointing. Only a few prints on display from a couple of his series — The Bikeriders and the Texas Prison photos mainly. Still nice to see these photos as prints. That's when you realize the impact of a print is so different than that of viewing a photo in a book.
lagalerierouge.paris
Finally, had time upon my return to go check out the Guido Guidi "Col Tempo" exhibition at Le Bal. If you are in Paris before it ends on May 24th, this is a must see.
www.le-bal.fr
I had planned to visit the Salgado exhibit at the Polka Galery, but the Guidi show left such a strong impression, with much to meditate about photography, that I decided to skip it.
Timing made it so that I was a bit too early to view the Daido Moriyama show at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, since it doesn't start until the 17th.
https://www.henricartierbresson.org/actualites/prochaine-exposition-a-fondation-daido-moriyama/
Did not put the Quai de la photo on my tour, as it didn't have an exhibition that tempted me.
quaidelaphoto.fr
Got to love Paris, even if there are way too many tourists.
And the food is great
.
Had two days to wander in Paris this week, one at the beginning, the other at the end of a short business trip. Spent all that time visiting some absolutely beautiful and inspiring exhibitions. First, the brilliant Martin Parr and Jo Ractliffe shows at the Jeu de Paume. Both were extraordinary, but the real discovery for me was Jo Ractliffe's both beautiful and tragic black and white South African landscapes, whose scars are intelligently captured as witness to the history of the apartheid years.
JO RACTLIFFE - Jeu de Paume
jeudepaume.org
The Martin Parr exhibit was also brilliantly curated, with a huge amount of photos on the walls, organized thematically. It was nice to go beyond the usual "Martin Parr's Greatest Hits" to have a much deeper sense of what his entire output was about — less humorous and much more cynical and tragic than we usually think. Only problem with this exhibit was that it is so popular — I went on a Saturday, which should be avoided if possible — that you could barely see the works, and certainly not stop to spend time contemplating one or the other. All these people taking photos of the photos on their cell phones was, well, very Martin-Parr-ish, to say the least.
MARTIN PARR - Jeu de Paume
jeudepaume.org
Next was a Danny Lyon exhibition in the small galery in le Marais called La Galerie Rouge. Very disappointing. Only a few prints on display from a couple of his series — The Bikeriders and the Texas Prison photos mainly. Still nice to see these photos as prints. That's when you realize the impact of a print is so different than that of viewing a photo in a book.
La Galerie Rouge
lagalerierouge.paris
Finally, had time upon my return to go check out the Guido Guidi "Col Tempo" exhibition at Le Bal. If you are in Paris before it ends on May 24th, this is a must see.
Guido Guidi. Col tempo, 1956–2024
Guido Guidi, né en Italie en 1941, appartient à une génération d’artistes qui a profondément transformé le rapport entre langage photographique et
www.le-bal.fr
I had planned to visit the Salgado exhibit at the Polka Galery, but the Guidi show left such a strong impression, with much to meditate about photography, that I decided to skip it.
Timing made it so that I was a bit too early to view the Daido Moriyama show at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, since it doesn't start until the 17th.
https://www.henricartierbresson.org/actualites/prochaine-exposition-a-fondation-daido-moriyama/
Did not put the Quai de la photo on my tour, as it didn't have an exhibition that tempted me.
Quai de la Photo | Centre d'art photographique sur la Seine à Paris
Quai de la Photo, un lieu unique à Paris dédié à la photographie : expositions, croisières et bar sur la Seine pour une expérience culturelle et festive.
quaidelaphoto.fr
Got to love Paris, even if there are way too many tourists.
And the food is great
.
...