Art photography

ART PHOTOGRAPHY

by Micaela Zucconi

Great auteurs of today and yesterday at the 25th Paris Photo, an opportunity to find photos to collect and gain an insight into the contemporary photography market

© Copyright Andres Serrano, Courtesy of the artist of the Galerie Nathalie Obadia Paris / Brussels

Modern, international contemporary photography at this year’s Paris Photo, the 25th edition of one of Europe’s most important photography events, a showcase for a market that’s more diverse than ever. It’s been a big draw for collectors, a phenomenon confirmed by the auction house figures – Christie’s held one of the first photography auctions in 1972. Whether classic preand post-war auteurs or contemporary artists, they are all riding a wave of interest. Photos by figures like Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Lewis Hine, Irving Penn, Candida Hofer and Justin Aversano attract bids ending in a string of zeroes. The event featured 183 exhibitors from 31 countries, displayed throughout the various sections. The main

Above, Harash Hananei with Morad Montazami, I begin to see (1). Side, Nazli Abbaspour, Reincarnation, 2019. Oppoite page, Andres Serrano, Piss Discus (Immersions), 1988,

©Arash Hananei/BMW Makers

©Silk Road Gallery and the artist

ART ON BOARD ]

area, a collection of 134 galleries, hosted a series of works from contemporary and 19th century artists, always a popular period, with stand-out galleries like Gagosian Paris, Pace New York (also presenting an important body of images from photographer Paolo Roversi with textile artist Sheila Hicks), Nathalie Obadia Paris and various new entries like Alberto Damian Treviso, plus figures from across the world including South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. These were complemented by solo and twohanded shows focussing attention on artists like Daniel Gordon and Boris Mikhaïlov, plus a homage to the people of the Ukraine with a series entitled Theater of War. The Curiosa section, with sixteen galleries from nine countries, brought together examples of emerging art in a selection of new talent assembled by Holly Roussell, curator of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. Identifying the main themes was no simple matter, though – in the words of director Florence Bourgeois, “We wanted to present a panorama of photography, the techniques that can make taking photos and prints unique. Then there are the political works like those by Boris Mikhaïlov of the Ukraine in the Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery or those depicting the body and performance, especially Marina Abramovic of Wilde and the exhibitions mounted by our partners”. One of these, the BMW Group, is celebrating 20 years of collaboration with Paris Photo.

The German car manufacturer has been involved in the cultural world for 50 years. This year’s winners of the BMW Art Makers programme are the artist Arash Hanaei and the curator Morad Montazami with the work Suburban Hauntology on the dystopian architecture of the 1970s. Discovering the artists whose work is on display was made easier by a series of useful thematic guides by figures from the worlds of culture and journalism like Thomas Girst, head of BMW’s culture department, with his twenty coups de coeur and Romanian artists Iosif and Aurora Királi from the Anca Poterasu Gallery. The event’s guests of honour, the actor Rossy de Palma, a regular in Pedro Almodovar’s films, selected eight powerful, unusual works including Female Torso with Veil, Paradise Cove, 1984 by Herb Ritts). The JP Morgan curators have identified 20 artists, including André Kertész with Les lunettes et la pipe de Mondrian from 1926, Gallerie Françoise Paviot, while Elle magazine defined a female-oriented experience highlighting the presence of women artists, including Letizia Battaglia, represented by Alberto Damian. Themes could also be identified in landscape photos like those of Yto Barrada (Pace Gallery) and Barry Salzman (Deepest Darkest Gallery, Cape Town). Salzman explored the locations of genocides with poetic metaphorical landscapes.

www.parisphoto.com

© Iosif Királi: Courtesy of the artist and Anca Poterasu

©Courtesy Alberto Damian Gallery

©Herb Ritts/Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery

artist and Wilde

© Sarah Moon / courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery 2022