On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Photography, the Fondation Francès offers the first retrospective reading of its photographic collection. Twenty years of acquisitions, emblematic works and sets…
On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Photography, the Fondation Francès offers the first retrospective reading of its photographic collection. Twenty years of acquisitions, emblematic works and rarely shown sets unfold in two places to tell, in images, the evolution of a medium and the trajectory of a collection. Its main thread: Humans and their excesses.
The exhibition shows how photography accompanies, reveals and questions the social, cultural and political transformations of our time. «Photography is, in essence, the medium of our collection: that of testimony, memory, reality and commitment. It alone reflects, in all their brutality, the excesses of the Human." specifies Estelle Francès.
Created in 2009, the Fondation Francès preserves, disseminates and enhances a collection initiated more than twenty years ago by Estelle and Hervé Francès. With nearly 1,000 works, it stands out for its committed and transversal approach to contemporary practices. From the very first acquisitions, photography has been a key feature: by capturing the moment and giving the body its central place, it has emerged as the natural medium for exploring humanity and its excesses. The collection embraces three complementary dimensions: intimate, as a space for self-construction and emancipation; documentary, as a critical tool of social realities and situations of injustice; experimental, when she explores the forms, techniques, and aesthetic languages of the medium.
Initially a majority, more than 50% of the works, photography still today represents nearly 30% of the collection, or nearly 300 pieces. There are some of the most striking signatures in the history of the medium: Nobuyoshi Araki, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Marcel Bascoulard, Gilles Caron, Gregory Crewdson, Raymond Depardon, Desirée Dolron, Nan Goldin, Mari Katayama, Lebohang Kganye, Dorothea Lange, Nicolas Lebeau, Annie Leibovitz, Vitas Luckus, Tomasz Machciński, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ryan McGinley, Erwin Olaf, Martin Parr, Irving Penn, Gretta Sarfaty, Andres Serrano, Malick Sidibé, Jeffrey Silverthorne, Dash Snow, Louis Stettner, Juergen Teller... and many other artists whose works have profoundly marked the history of the medium.
The exhibition Faire corps questions how photography becomes a space for dialogue, encounter and critical reflection. The works presented show how images raise awareness and fuel debate around the major issues that run through the collection: the fragility of existence, the construction of personal, family, social and collective identity, social and political struggle, commitment and artistic ethics.
