The endlessly photographable France is on display in Paris all throughout April and into May.
After having spent years sharing the month of November with the International Paris Photography Fair, le Mois de la Photo has moved to April to distinguish itself and bask in all its deserved glory. Now that they’ve moved the fair away from the industry-centric November event, le Mois de la Photo has decided to make their the month more artist-centric. With the move, Photography Month can also widen its physical boundaries to the greater area of Paris, thus taking on the name Le Mois de la Photo du Grand Paris (emphasis on the Grand Paris). There are more than 80 exhibits, and a variety of photography-related events.
Here are our 11 favorite exhibits this month (to see a complete list of exhibitions, go here, scroll over “Programme” at the top and click on “Exhibitions”).
1. Robert Doisneau: Les Années Vogue – March 8-May 8
The Vogue Years: “From 1949 to 1952, Doisneau was tasked by Edmonde Charles-Roux to photograph high society for Vogue magazine. This series features his characteristic tenderness and perfect composition.”
Espace Richaud – 78 Boulevard de la Reine, 78000 Versailles
More information here.
2. Henri Cartier-Bresson: Images à la sauvette – Jan 11-April 23
Illegal images: “This exhibition presents the opportunity to discover the genesis of the mythic Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Images à la Sauvette, through a selection of rare vintage prints and documents.”
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson – 2 Impasse Lebouis, 75014 Paris
More information here.
3. EXPOSITION COLLECTIVE: Revenir, Rendre, Retourner : Agence VII – April 4-May 5
Return, Give Back, Turn Around: “For the 15th anniversary of the VII photo agency, the works of some of the world’s best photo-reporters are on display in two places: the Cosmos Galerie and Central DUPON Images.”
Central DUPON Images – 74 Rue Joseph de Maistre, 75018 Paris
More information here.
4. Nicolò Degiorgis: Eurotunnel – April 10-May 5
Eurotunnel: “The exhibition takes the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK as a case study to reflect on sociological, historical and philosophical aspects related to national and European boarders. The refugees’ immediate are both obstacles that must be overcome and the physical manifestations of the unrealized hope, rejection, and imprisonment they suffer. The photographs aim to reconstitute the structural violence that characterizes the existence of people fleeing the horrors of war.”
Institut culturel italien de Paris – Hôtel de Galliffet – 50 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris
More information here.
5. Roger Schall: Paris des années 30 – March 30-May 6
Paris in the 30s: “Photos of Paris in the 1930s, by day and by night, with its lively streets, monuments, the prosperity of the 30s, but also its dark alleys and the misery of the forgotten. Most of these pictures have never been seen before.”
Galerie Argentic – 43 Rue Daubenton, Paris
More information here.
6. Willy Maywald et à la mode – March 30-May 13
Willy Maywald and style: “Tribute to the photographer Willy Maywald (1907-1985), German living in France since the 30’s. Exceptional collection of fashion photos from the 1950s/60s showcasing the designs of creators such as Dior, Jacques Fath, Givenchy…”
Galerie Dina Vierny – 36 Rue Jacob, 75006 Paris
More information here.
7. Le Grand Paris vu de nos fenêtres: Exposition immersive d’un inventaire participative – April 8-April 28
Greater Paris as seen through our windows: an immersive exhibition: “Thousands of photos gathered from the Grand Paris seen from the inside, by its inhabitants, accompanied comparative perspectives from high school students and a scientific college supported by Roland Castro.”
La Maison de l’Architecture en Île-de-France et Gare de Paris-Est – 148 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 75010 Paris
More information here.
8. Jean-François Rauzier: Balades de Paris – Les bouquinistes – March 25-May 8
The walks of Paris – the booksellers: “The combinatorial potential of thousands of photos leaves the spectator in a flood of information. He is forced to see globally and in detail at the same time, in a mental, mathematic and oneiric way.”
La Chapelle – 78120 Impasse de l’Abbaye, Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines
More information here.
9. EXPOSITION COLLECTIVE: L’esprit français, 1969-1989 – February 24-May 21
The French Spirit, 1969-1989: “Through a selection of works and documents, the exhibit identifies the “French spirit”, a blend of idealism and nihilism, humour noir and eroticism, pamphleteer and lyrical.”
La maison rouge – Fondation Antoine de Galbert – 10 Boulevard de la Bastille, 75012 Paris
More information here.
10. Gilles Elie-Dit-Cosaque: Ma grena’ et moi – March 23-April 30
My motorbike and me: “Portraits of Guadeloupean using the « Chaudron », mythical moped of Motobécane, resounding strangely in Pantin, city in which started the story Motobécane in 1924.”
Le Garage – 5 Rue Gabrielle Josserand, 93500 Pantin
More information here.
11. Paolo Woods, Gabriele Galimberti: Les Paradis. Rapport annuel – March 23-April 21
Paradise. The annual report: “From Delaware to Jersey, from the British Virgin Islands to the City of London, Paolo Woods and Gabriele Galimberti have travelled to the offshore centers that embody tax avoidance, secrecy, and extreme wealth, driven by a constant obsession with translating tax havens into images. An investigation on the opaque places of power.”
Centre Assas – 92 Rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris
More information here.
