The Centre de la photographie de Mougins presents its new exhibition starting 20 February: Le spectaculaire à l’épreuve de la matière through 7 June 2026.
At the beginning of 1953, in Vallauris, André Villers (1930-2016) crossed paths with destiny: Picasso. From that encounter came a friendship and a creative complicity that lasted ten years. Picasso gave him his first Rolleiflex, that “sewing machine” that became his instrument of alchemy. From Diurnes (1962) to Pliages d’Ombres (1977), Villers established himself as an experimenter, cutting, layering, transforming the image. Faithful to the spirit of Michel Butor, Villers pushed the boundaries of visual narrative. The image is no longer a documentary mirror, but a fracture; it questions the distance between the author, the subject, and the viewer. Even today, we are urged to rethink photography. With Elsa Leydier and Clara Chichin, the photographic act rediscovers the slowness and the precision of artisanal gesture. The photographer becomes once again a nomadic gatherer, a sower of images, a patient companion of the living. We must linger on this: photography can, and must, remain a living organism, a pigmented body, composed of signs, emulsions, and vibrating micro-elements.
Le spectaculaire à l’épreuve de la matière
20 February – 7 June 2026
Opening: 20 February 2026 at 6:30 pm
Centre de la photographie de Mougins
43 Rue de l’Église
06250 Mougins, France
www.centrephotographiemougins.com
