My first impression of Paris Photo was probably a bit dark and depressing for whatever reason but this is after all supposedly the best of the photography fairs around the world.
One can sense that the selection committee is pretty tight with who they let in but one can get tired of seeing exactly the same thing over and over again from the same big names.
With that in mind I went back for a second look in the hopes of seeing more clearly. This time I found plenty to like but in truth rarely was anything completely new to me.
Here are some highlights in no particular order:
Taiji Matsue at Taro Nasu from Tokyo, Japan:
Taiji Matsue, Wyoming 2000 #94
For 50 Euros, one can buy small, unique gelatin silver prints, hand-cut and selected by the artist himself from his Gazetteer series of landscapes originally made around and leading up to 2002. The landscapes were shot all over the world and are fairly abstract devoid of horizon lines and sky. They are absolutely jewel like in their presence.
Once I looked through the book of the same project I got a better sense of the series as a whole and realized that one photograph wouldn’t be enough. The book is completely composed of full bleed facing pages which don’t necessarily connect visually, conceptually or geographically.
The prints are quite a bargain and probably the best deal to be found in all of Paris Photo. After all, we are talking about real gelatin silver prints, beautifully realized and far from your everyday inkjet.
JH Engström at Galerie VU from Paris, France:
I have known about JH Engström’s various bodies of work for awhile now but I rarely get a chance to see them in person. His work seems to run in many different directions but overall there is a raw and somewhat carnal feeling to everything he does.
This new group of photographs from the series Wells caught my eye as they held the wall nicely and were beautifully printed.
Leigh Ledare at Guido Costa Projects:
Anyone walking by this wall of photographs couldn’t help but notice them in all their explicit and twisted glory. Most people can’t even talk to their mothers about sex, let alone bare witness to their mother’s sexual adventures. These photographs are totally deranged yet surprisingly compelling and captivating.
Leigh Ledare, Mother in New Home, 2006
Other highlights included a big room filled with vintage Gustave LeGray albumen prints:
A memorial wall of Evelyn Hofer prints at Galerie M Bochum from Bochum, Germany which included some very choice dye transfer prints:
Evelyn Hofer, Phoenix Park on a Sunday, Dublin, 1966
Lastly, at Michael Hoppen Gallery, I discovered the work of Bernard Voita, with just two small black and white prints on display. These date back to the 90’s and I wonder why I hadn’t heard of him before. The work is comprised of constructed images that play with one’s sense of space and realistic reading of the world.
Bernard Voita, Untitled, 1995
Voita makes some smart photographs which rival the very best of John Divola, Zeke Berman, Thomas Demand or even James Casabere. They are wonderful and confounding.
i think I am underwhelmed too…but maybe I have simply lost (some) my appreciation for photography.
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There is a great book on Bernard Voita, that is often found in the bargain bins. I also wonder why he is not a name more widely known, it seems he hasnt been showing much since the 90’s.