Boogie Woogie Photography presents a group exhibition: Irrésistibles, which brings together a collection of selected artists. The exhibition is held at the Loft in Wong Chuk Hang (concurrent with Art Basel and the Art Week in Hong Kong). The gallery introduces it as follow.
Welcome to “Irrésistibles,” an exhibition that invites you to surrender to the sheer magnetic force of beauty. As Oscar Wilde, that inimitable arbiter of taste and temptation, so famously declared, “I can resist anything but temptation.” This sentiment lies at the very heart of our collection. “Irrésistibles” is an invitation to indulge your senses, it is a celebration of the art that reminds us that some temptations are not to be resisted, but embraced – for they are the very elements that hold our gaze and give us profound joy that resonates within us. May these works brighten your spirit and inspire a delightful surrender to the “Irrésistible”.
Artists presented:
Roger Ballen, Isabelle Boccon-Gibod, Raymond Cauchetier, Frank Horvat, Kaws, Bogdan Konopka, Karl Lagerfeld, Robert Lam, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Willy Ronis, Takeshi Shikama, Michel Sima, Louis Stettner, Ellen von Unwerth
Artists Profile
Roger Ballen (USA, 1950)
Roger Ballen’s photographs span over fifty years, and he is one of the most influential and important photographic artists of the 21st century. His strange and extreme works confront the viewer and challenge them to come with him on a journey into their minds as he explores the deeper recesses of his own. Roger Ballen was one of the artists representing South Africa at the Venice Biennale 2022 in Italy. His works can be found in the permanent collections of many of the most important international museums.
Isabelle Boccon-Gibod (France, 1968)
Isabelle was trained as an Engineer at Ecole Centrale Paris and Columbia University. Her life has mixed art and industry throughout her career. Having first worked on collages and installations, she elected photography twenty years ago as her core medium. Her work is project-based, photography offering the means and the pretext to explore specific territories. She likes to employ ad-hoc techniques. Centre Pompidou in Paris collects her work.
Raymond Cauchetier (France, 1920-2021)
Raymond Cauchetier was largely a self-taught photographer. His first photographs were taken in his thirties while serving in the press corps of the French Air Force in Indochina. Upon his return to Paris, Cauchetier began mixing with a circle of young film critics and filmmakers, among them Jean-Luc Godard which lead to his involvement with the French New Wave which lasted until 1968. He has traveled extensively and taken photographs in Cambodia and has also photographed throughout Europe for his work on Romanesque sculpture. Several books of his photographs have been published, including Photos de cinéma: Autour de la nouvelle vague 1958-1968. His work has been showcased in Aperture Magazine as well as The New Yorker Magazine. He was exhibited in Arles Festival in 2021.
Frank Horvat (Croatia, 1928-2020)
Frank Horvat, an Italian-born photographer, revolutionized French fashion imagery by blending fashion with reportage. He began photography at fifteen in Milan, publishing in Epoca by 1951. Joining Magnum Photos and moving to Paris in the late 1950s, he transformed editorial shoots. Instead of static studios, he placed models in real-world settings like streets and cafés, creating dynamic images for magazines such as Vogue, Life, and Harper’s Bazaar. Horvat embraced new technologies and maintained a spontaneous rapport with subjects, resulting in candid yet sophisticated portraits. His work, exhibited globally at institutions like MoMA and the V&A, spanned seven decades, exploring style, technology, and storytelling, leaving an inspiring legacy.
Kaws (United States, 1974)
Brian Donnelly, known as Kaws, is an American artist who rose from graffiti roots in New York to global acclaim. He gained recognition by subverting advertising billboards and later developed his iconic “Companion” character, distinguished by X-ed out eyes, often reinterpreting pop culture figures. Kaws’s diverse practice spans street art, collectible toys, paintings, and large-scale sculptures. Renowned for blurring the lines between fine art, commercial design, and street culture through numerous high-profile collaborations, his accessible yet sophisticated work is exhibited in major institutions worldwide, leaving a significant mark on contemporary art.
Karl Lagerfeld (Germany, 1933-2019)
Karl Lagerfeld, a German-born fashion icon, was a prolific and influential designer renowned for his transformative work at Chanel, Fendi, and his eponymous label. Joining Chanel in 1983, he famously revitalized the dormant house, blending its classic heritage with modern, often provocative, aesthetics. Lagerfeld’s distinctive personal style—white ponytail, dark glasses, and high collars—became as iconic as his designs. A polymath, he also excelled as a photographer and illustrator. His immense creative output, sharp wit, and ability to consistently redefine luxury fashion cemented his status as one of the industry’s most enduring and impactful figures.
Robert Lam (China)
Robert Lam is a fashion photographer with fine art and graphic design training. He has worked for various major fashion magazines and produced advertising images for many international publications. He was also a Hollywood overseas photographer for actors and actresses. After the Covid Pandemic hits Hong Kong Robert Lam is now concentrated in modern art with multi media content .
Jacques Henri Lartigue (France, 1894-1986)
Famous for his dynamic photographs of car races and elegant women, Lartigue casts a mischievous eye on his surroundings. He notably documented the excitement of the years of the Belle Époque with a keen eye, and photographed vacationers on the French Riviera and Basque coast from the 1920s to the 1980s. Internationally recognized in 1963, Lartigue became a reference for many photographers.
Bogdan Konopka (Poland, 1953-2019)
Born in Poland and living in Paris, Bogdan Konopka was a travel photographer. From Europe to China, Konopka has been taking photographs of cities he visits or lives. Whether the subjects are a fragment of nature or an interior space, Konopka’s images are immediately recognizable. Using large format or pinhole cameras, Konopka pays close attention to the quality of his photographs. His hand-made gelatin silver prints on chlorobromide paper are mostly contact prints, which have the same size as the original negative to achieve perfection. Konopka’s work is in many collections, such as Musée National d’Art Moderne and Centre Georges Pompidou.
Willy Ronis (France, 1910-2009)
Willy Ronis was raised by a musician mother and photographer father. While music was his first passion, he turned to photography to help his ailing father and later to earn a living. After his father’s death in 1936 forced the closure of the family studio, Ronis became a press photographer, publishing work in outlets like L’Humanité and Regards, and documenting both the social movements and the daily joys of 1930s France. Preferring independence over studio work, he covered a wide range of subjects, from fashion to portraits and cultural reports. Throughout his career, Ronis intertwined his personal life with his art, capturing intimate portraits of his wife Marie-Anne, his son, friends, and notable figures, as well as female nudes and self-portraits, all united by a poetic, humanistic vision.
Michel Sima (Belarus, 1972-1987)
Michel Smajewski studied drawing at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. After becoming a student of Zadkine, he was noticed by Cocteau, who introduced him to Picabia and Paul Éluard. From that point on, while working with press agencies, he produced photographic reports on Paris and on the political and artistic events of the 1930s, all the while continuing his career as a sculptor. In 1946, having survived Auschwitz, he reconnected with Picasso and photographed him daily in his studio in Antibes, resulting in a unique photographic documentation of the artist and his work. This became the starting point for a remarkable series of portraits of artists associated with the School of Paris.
Takeshi Shikama (Japan, 1948)
Takeshi Shikama’s life ambition is to capture the “invisible” world that lingers beyond the visible world of nature. Each photograph is hand-printed by himself using the ancient platinum/palladium technique, considered the highest quality in black and white photographic printing. The Japanese Gampi paper on which he prints is a UNESCO national treasure. It requires a great deal of time and manual labor, reflecting Shikama’s intimacy with his subject matter.
Louis Stettner (USA, 1922-2016)
As one of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th century, Louis Stettner’s work included streetscapes, portraits, and images of New York and Paris, which he continued to photograph for seven decades. His work stands out in photography due to his ability to convey profound human emotions and everyday life with an understated yet powerful authenticity. Additionally, having always printed his own work throughout his long career, his photographs reflect a rich interpretation of his visual imagery through the silver gelatin medium. Stettner’s work is present in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the New York Museum of Modern Art, and the V&A Museum, London. Stettner’s photographs are represented in over seventy museums collections throughout the world.
Ellen von Unwerth (Germany, 1954)
Ellen von Unwerth is a renowned German photographer and director, initially gaining recognition as a fashion model before transitioning behind the lens. She is celebrated for her distinctive, playful, and often provocative style, which champions a sensual and empowered femininity. Her work frequently blends high fashion with a raw, energetic, and retro-inspired aesthetic, drawing on influences like pin-up art and burlesque. Von Unwerth has photographed countless supermodels and celebrities, creating iconic images for major fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. Her unique vision has solidified her status as one of the most influential photographers, known for capturing women with confidence, humor, and an undeniable zest for life.
Irrésistibles
13 March 2026 – 10 April 2026
Boogie Woogie Photography
The Loft, 8/F, E Wah Factory Building,
56-60 Wong Chuk Hang Road, HK
www.boogiewoogiephotography.com
