The Artspace X Gallery in Seoul presents an exhibition entitled Contemporary French Photography – Humans, Nature, and the City, organized by the Galerie Parallax in Aix-en-Provence. It is accompanied by this text:
“The original holds the true power.” Even when works are structured around the same theme and adopt similar approaches, the fundamental difference between those derived from the original and those that follow is abysmal. The original, by arousing great expectations, must display an undeniable singularity compared to the works that follow it. With this in mind, the exhibition “Views on Contemporary French Photography” is like a platform highlighting the excellence of the current French photography scene.
Bringing together 20 artists who illuminate the currents of contemporary French photography, the exhibition features forty-three works divided into three major themes: humans, nature, and the city. Most of the works presented emphasize the reinterpretation of traditional artisanal techniques, rather than the direct use of cutting-edge technologies.
The exhibition thus brings together a variety of photographic processes – ranging from pre-industrial processes, albumen printing, platinum-palladium, ferrotype, to innovative processes developed by the artists themselves, such as the ecotype of Anthony Morel or the altotype of Alfons Alt – giving this exhibition a decidedly original character compared to classic photographic exhibitions.
Some works involve physical interventions on the image – scraping off the gelatin or adding materials such as wax and pigments – thus arousing curiosity on both an artistic and technical level, and illustrating the diversity of processes used in contemporary photography.
Photographies contemporaines françaises – l’humain, la nature et la ville
from April 29 to May 11, 2025
Art Space X
253 – 15, Shinwon, Seocho, Seoul
www.artspacex.co.kr
Galerie Parallax
3 rue des Epinaux
13100 Aix en Provence
www.galerieparallax.fr
