From 13 to 16 November the world’s leading photography fair, Paris Photo, once more took over the beautiful Grand Palais. We were there and strolled from stand to stand to select what we consider to be some of the absolute must-sees of this edition, from American fashion legend Richard Avedon to Chinese rising star Ren Hang.

Earlier this month 169 galleries and publishers gathered in Paris for the 18th edition of Paris Photo, without a doubt the world’s leading photography fair, which has been bringing together collectors, gallery owners, museum acquisition teams (Tate Modern, MoMA), publishers, photographers, curators and the general public alike since its launch in 1996. For four days an impressive 60.000 photo aficionados attended book signings and panel discussions and strolled through the many gallery stands under the magnificent glass and iron ceiling of the Grand Palais. No other fair offers such an overwhelming variety and wide-ranging and comprehensive view of photography as a medium, showcasing an eclectic mix that includes everything from old masters to new talents, uniting the cream of the crop of historic and contemporary photography while embracing it in all its forms. Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, Richard Avedon, Stephen Shore, Henri Cartier-Bresson… all under the same roof!
The lines between contemporary art and photography are becoming more and more blurred and accordingly not only top photo gallerists such as Berlin’s Camera Work or San Francisco’s Fraenkel set up their booths in Paris but also the internationally renowned generalists from Gagosian to David Zwirner. And speaking of booths, the attempts by many galleries to offer alternatives to the classic white cube stand, coming up with innovative presentation setups were extremely striking.
Stands were painted in brown (Fifty One Fine Art), green (Gagosian), and even neon pink (Dominique Fiat) and accessorized with sofas, flower bouquets, special lighting and coffee tables giving them a more personal feel and rendering the whole fair experience a little less repetitive. An absolute eye-catcher was the stunning booth by New York’s Bruce Silverstein Gallery which drew a lot of attention with its large-scale hole in the wall, and London’s Hamiltons Gallery did a very good job at creating a calming, closed-off space, darkly colored and softly lit.
Although the program included a large number of younger, emerging photographers, it was the big names that had the most crowded booths. The most hyped one was undoubtedly Robert Mapplethorpe’s solo show curated by French film icon Isabelle Huppert. Prices started at around $ 1.000 and went up into seven digit figures, with Irving Penn's “Woman in Moroccan Palace” reaching a price tag of $ 1.5 million. And sales seemed to have gone well judging by the many red dots on the labels. For those who couldn’t make it to Paris, we religiously cruised every single stand to handpick a number of must-see gems for you. Here are our seven coup de coeurs.
The lines between contemporary art and photography are becoming more and more blurred and accordingly not only top photo gallerists such as Berlin’s Camera Work or San Francisco’s Fraenkel set up their booths in Paris but also the internationally renowned generalists from Gagosian to David Zwirner. And speaking of booths, the attempts by many galleries to offer alternatives to the classic white cube stand, coming up with innovative presentation setups were extremely striking.
Stands were painted in brown (Fifty One Fine Art), green (Gagosian), and even neon pink (Dominique Fiat) and accessorized with sofas, flower bouquets, special lighting and coffee tables giving them a more personal feel and rendering the whole fair experience a little less repetitive. An absolute eye-catcher was the stunning booth by New York’s Bruce Silverstein Gallery which drew a lot of attention with its large-scale hole in the wall, and London’s Hamiltons Gallery did a very good job at creating a calming, closed-off space, darkly colored and softly lit.
Although the program included a large number of younger, emerging photographers, it was the big names that had the most crowded booths. The most hyped one was undoubtedly Robert Mapplethorpe’s solo show curated by French film icon Isabelle Huppert. Prices started at around $ 1.000 and went up into seven digit figures, with Irving Penn's “Woman in Moroccan Palace” reaching a price tag of $ 1.5 million. And sales seemed to have gone well judging by the many red dots on the labels. For those who couldn’t make it to Paris, we religiously cruised every single stand to handpick a number of must-see gems for you. Here are our seven coup de coeurs.
I
Nicholas Nixon, Fraenkel Gallery

II
Mona Kuhn, Jackson Fine Art

III
Richard Avedon, Gagosian Gallery

IV
Ren Hang, Galerie Paris-Beijing

V
William Eggleston, Rose Gallery

VI
Brea Souders, Bruce Silverstein

VII
Richard Mosse, Carlier-Gebauer

By Sarah Shug