Paris Photo 2021 — 24e édition — Grand Palais Éphémère — Fair — Slash Paris

Past: November 11 → 14, 2021

Focus Paris Photo 2021 Entre formalisme abstrait, objectivité métamorphosée, documentarisme éthérée, cinq démarches décalées et incontournables autour de la représentation du corps à découvrir durant cette très belle édition de Paris Photo 2021 au Gand Palais Ephémère.

Paris Photo, the world’s leading art fair dedicated to photography, taking place from November 11 to 14, 2021 at the Grand Palais Ephémère in Paris, announces the participation of 177 exhibitors from 25 countries. For its 24th edition, the main sector and the Curiosa sector, dedicated to emerging artists, host 148 French and international galleries and the book sector presents 30 publishers and booksellers.

Main sector

The fair welcomes 29 new main sector galleries, including AFRONOVA (Johannesburg) with recent works by young South African female photographers; CEYSSON & BÉNÉTIÈRE (Paris) with a show by Mounir Fatmi, Tania Mouraud, ORLAN and Aurélie Pétrel; and LOFT ART (Morocco) with multimedia works by Joana Choumali. DOCUMENT (Chicago) showcases recent works exploring body politics by Paul Mpagi Sepuya, while CHRISTIAN BERST ART BRUT (Paris) presents a project on identity by Tomasz Machcinski.

Addressing environmental and geopolitical issues, BILDHALLE (Zurich) features experimental works reflecting on climate change by Douglas Mandry; ISABELLE VAN DEN EYNDE (Dubai) takes a look at the socio-political landscape in 1950-70s Iraq with Latif Al Ani; and MARLBOROUGH (New York) shows iconic images by Bill Brandt, Brassaï, and Irving Penn, presented for the first time in 40 years.

Numerous galleries make their return to the fair, including GEORGESPHILIPPE ET NATHALIE VALLOIS (Paris) proposing socially engaged images by Pilar Albarracín; and ODILE OUIZEMAN (Paris) with a feature presentation by the founding member of NO!art, Boris Lurie.

Renowned for its high level selection that offers the best of photography, from its origins to its most contemporary forms, Paris Photo will present 17 solo shows and 10 duo shows; among them, BRAVERMAN (Tel Aviv) honours the artist Ilit Azoulay and her work on photography and hysteria; KARSTEN GREVE (Paris) proposes a dive into the Mediterranean travels of the iconic photographer Herbert List; LUME (São Paulo) presents a series on Brazilian identity by Claudio Edinger; MAGNIN-A (Paris) unveils the new politically charged series “Allegoria” by Omar Victor Diop; and GAGOSIAN (Paris), a unique presentation of photographs by Cy Twombly.

Group show highlights include new and rare works, such as unpublished dye transfer prints by Tod Papageorge, exhibited for the very first time by THOMAS ZANDER (Cologne); works by newly represented artist Carrie Mae Weems at FRAENKEL (San Francisco); and rare prints from Bruce Davidson by HOWARD GREENBERG (New York). Features on women in photography include propositions by KICKEN (Berlin) with ‘heroes’ Diane Arbus, Gertrud Arndt and Sibylle Bergemann, among others; and BRUCE SILVERSTEIN (New York) with modernists Berenice Abbott, Ilse Bing, Germaine Krull and Helen Levitt.

STEVENSON (Cape Town) presents new works exploring gender and identity by Zanele Muholi; GREGORY LEROY (Paris) and CHARLES ISAACS (New York) propose for the first time in Paris, Yolanda Andrade, who documented the 1980s LGBT movement in Mexico.

Curiosa sector

The Curiosa sector, inaugurated in 2018 and dedicated to emerging artists, presents a selection of 20 projects curated by Shoair Mavlian, director of Photoworks and former assistant curator of photography at the Tate Modern.

Mavlian’s selection features solo presentations by twenty artists from eleven different countries, some of whom exhibit in France for the first time, such as Maisie Cousins (TJ BOULTING London) and Jošt Dolinšek (PHOTON Ljubljana). This year Curiosa highlights new trends in contemporary photographic practice, including new documentary approaches and themes focusing on identity and the natural environment.

Elles x Paris Photo

Paris Photo continues its commitment to women in photography with Elles x Paris Photo, a programme initiated in 2019 in partnership with the French Ministry of Culture and supported by Kering / Women in Motion to promote the visibility of women artists and their contribution to the history of photography. For this 2021 edition, Nathalie Herschdorfer, art historian specializing in photography and director of the Musée du Locle, Switzerland, presents a selection of works chosen from the galleries’ proposals.

Online Viewing Room

Accompanying this 2021 edition at the Grand Palais Ephémère, Paris Photo launches its first-ever Online Viewing Room, which opens to the public November 11-17th. The new online platform powered by Artlogic — the industry leader in digital solutions for the art world — offers Paris Photo galleries and book dealers additional exposure to expand upon their artistic programmes presented at the fair. For collectors and enthusiasts, it is an opportunity to easily acquire artworks, list favorites, discover new talent, peruse curator picks and forge new connections with galleries and art book dealers from anywhere in the world.

Visitors will also have access to exclusive digital programming and live content developed exclusively for Paris Photo.