From November 13 to 16, 2008, Paris Photo, the world’s leading fair for 19th century, modern and contemporary photography, will bring together 107 exhibitors (86 galleries + 21 publishers) from 19 countries at the Carrousel du Louvre.
A deeply renewed selection
The 2008 selection will bring a profound change with a record number of first-time exhibitors (38%, or 31 new arrivals) and one of the highest rates of foreign participation (78% of exhibitors are non-French.) The largest contingent of exhibitors comes from the USA with 18 galleries, followed by France (17), Japan (14), Germany, Spain and the UK (7 each), Holland (3), Italy (3) and one representative for each of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, South-Africa, South-Korea. Australia and India will be making their first appearance at the fair (1 gallery each). While Asia will gain unprecedented exposure this year, the 2008 selection will also favour focussed exhibition projects: one-man shows for several major contemporary artists (Boris Mikhailov at Guido Costa, Martin Parr at Janet Borden, Dayanita Singh at Nature Morte, Alec Soth at Weinstein…) and thematic, museum-like hangings (“19th Century Sculpture Photographs” at Daniel Blau, « 40 British Calotypes » chez Robert Hershkowitz”, “The School of Chicago” at Stephen Daiter, “Theater and life” at Michael Stevenson…). The 2008 fair will showcase the works of some 500 international photographers and artists from all continents, offering the expected 40,000 visitors a panoramic view of fine art photography from its early days until now.
Spotlight on Japan : an exceptional overview of Japanese photography
For the first time, Paris Photo is looking towards the Far East and inviting Japan as its guest of honour. This coincides with growing international interest in Japanese photography. Photography has been one of the most intense and major areas of Japanese culture since it was first introduced in the country in 1848, towards the end of the Edo Period. With work by more than 130 artists, Paris Photo will offer an exceptional overview of a unique vision, from the Meiji era to 1930’s avant-garde movements and the post-war years through to the most contemporary production. To date, no exhibition in Europe has brought together such a large number of Japanese photographers. About thirty galleries in the General Sector will feature Japan’s great classic masters (Shoji Ueda, Ihei Kimura, Masahisa Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Shomei Tomastu) and contemporary artists (Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Naoya Hatakeyama). The Statement Section, comprising eight invited Japanese galleries, and the Project Room dedicated to video art will present the exciting work of a young generation of artists mainly born in the mid-sixties and the seventies. A publishers’ space will highlight the central role of photobooks on the Japanese photography scene. Paris Photo invited the independent curator and photography critic Mariko Takeuchi to curate “Spotlight on Japan”.
Details
Dates: Thursday, 13 November– Sunday, 16 November, 2008
Opening by invitation only: Wednesday, 12 November, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Venue: Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
Opening hours: Thursday, 13 November from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, Friday, 14November from
11:00 am to 9:00 pm, Saturday, 15 November from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm, Sunday, 16 November from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
General admission: 15 €, 7.50 € for students and groups
Catalogue: 20 €
Information: www.parisphoto.fr
