Previously held at the Carousel de Louvre, this years setting for Paris Photo 2011 was the Grand Palais. The building as the name suggests is impressively large and quite awe inspiring once you start walking around. The day I attended there was bright sunshine, with the roof being made of glass the majority of prints were viewed in natural daylight, which is quite different from previous shows which have been in closed roof buildings.
The show attracted more galleries than ever this year, and in terms of attendance feedback from people I spoke to said that a greater number of people attended this time round.
Below highlights some of the prints that were on show that caught my eye. Hamilton’s Gallery usually has the best looking stand, this year was no different. They had a selection of Irving Penn’s multi-layered platinum prints on display that were stunning examples of this particular alternative printing process.
Irving Penn, A Cry,Multi-layered Platinum/Palladium Print, 1982, 12x16 inchs
Irving PennBalenciaga Mantle Coat (Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn),
Multi-layered Platinum/Palladium Print, 1950, 23x20 inchs
Selection of Irving Penn Platinum/Palladium Prints from the 'Small Trade' series
Helmet Newton
Pace/MacGill had some interesting prints on show by Penn, Paolo Roversi and Harry Callahan
Cigarette 37, Irving Penn, 1972, Four Platinum/Palladium prints, (60x45inchs)
Kirsten as Juliet, 1988, Paolo Roversi, Polariod, 9.5x7.5inchs
Eleanor, Chicago, 1947, Harry Callahan, Silver Gelatin, 5x4 inchs
Every year Paris photo has a theme, this year it was images of African Origin, Bernheimer Fine Art photography showed a selection of platinum prints by Nick Brandt and Irving Penn based on this theme.
Girl With Nose Disc, Irving Penn,1969, Multi-layer platinum/palladium print, 20x16 inchs
Nick Brandt, Elephant Drinking, Platinum/Palladium print, 90x70cm
Chettah and Cubs, Nick Brandt,2003, Plaitnum/Palladium 90x70
The Michael Hoppen gallery had some new prints by Boris Savelev
, these are multi-layered pigment (inkjet) prints on gesso covered aluminium. Regular viewers will know that i wrote an article on this process you can download a copy here
Boris Savelev, Jelty Bus,Multi-layered pigment print on gesso covered aluminium. 164x110cm
I came across some stunning platinum/palladium prints by Herb Ritts at the Edwynn Houk Gallery.
Herb Ritts, Tatjana Veiled Head, 1988 Platinum/Palladium print,20x16 inchs
Herb Ritts,Now and Zen 1, Platinum/Palladium,20x24inchs
One of the many galleries that had not attened Paris Photo before was the Gagosian, they had some impressive prints that caught my eye by Hiroshi Sugimoto and very large Richard Avedon silver prints
Hiroshi Sugimoto Lightening Fieilds 226-228, 2009, Silver Gelatin, 20x16 inchs
Hiroshi Sugimoto Stylized Sculpture 110, 2007 Gelatin silver print,58x47 inchs
Richard Avedon, self portrait, 1980, Silver Gelatin, 50x40 1/4 inches
Hacklbury Fine Art gallery had some interesting prints by the Starn Twins, the print below using all maner of materials to create the final result
Doug and Mike Starn, Dig Yourself (2005-2008) Unique color carbon print on Zerkall paper with 16K gold and palladium leaf water filding and 24K illumination. 36x60 inchs
Doug & Mike Starn Structure of Thought 15 (2001-05) Inkjet print and mixed media
Always when I visit the Howard Greenburg stand i ask to have a look at some of Kenro Izu's platinum/palladium prints as they are simply exquisite, this print was influenced by Paul Stand's series of images he took of South West America in the early 20th Century. The print is quite breathtaking to view in person.
Kenro Izu, South West, US 8, 1993 Platinum-Palladium print, 14 x 20
Overall I really enjoyed the fair this year, there was so much excellent photography on show, I really needed two days to view it all properly. I hope they use the Grand Palais again next year as it’s a great location.
Nicole Kidman, New York 1996
