The Galerie Capazza presents Seeing Time, an exhibition of Robert Charles Mann‘s solargraphs. He explores time and space through luminous pinhole photography, capturing the sun’s movement across the sky over the storied Château Miraval. A book, “Château Miraval – Solargraphs,” will be published in November by Hemeria. Brad Pitt wrote the preface.
“After acquiring the Miraval estate in 2011, I wanted to continue this story. First by renovating the studios, which have reopened their doors to musicians. Then, by developing architectural works—a lifelong personal passion. Finally, by hosting artists from all walks of life (film directors, painters, sculptors, and photographers) in residence. And, out of passion, and to extend the history of this place, I happily invest myself in the wine and olive growing industry.
This book brings together the Solargraphs created in this special place, where friendship, the beauty of nature, and artistic creativity come together.
It is a pleasure and an honor to share with the public these works, which celebrate the beauty of the world and pay homage to Miraval.
I’d been accumulating a large quantity of negatives at home for ten years, and I needed someone reliable and discreet to help me print them.
It was Mark McKenna, Executive Director of the Herb Ritts Foundation, who first told me about Robert Charles Mann.
This tall, lean guy from the Midwest had worked extensively with Herb Ritts, and Mark was convinced he could be the kind of demanding printer I was looking for. So I met him in the mid-2000s.
For several weeks we remained locked in the photographic laboratory and we found a complicity and a trust that still persists today. It was at this moment that Robert told me about his work, which he had begun fifteen years earlier with pinhole cameras. I remember immediately appreciating the atmospheres and textures of the Orbits and Flowers series.
A few years later, he shared his first solargraphs with me.
The idea that these celestial observations could come from such an ancient and artisanal tool fascinated me, and the prospect of installing these pinhole cameras at the Miraval estate in Provence became obvious.
So, at the time of the solstices, Robert comes to Miraval to pick up his cameras and install new ones. The solargraphs he produces amaze me year after year. Each time, I am struck by seeing, in the same image, this place inhabited by so much history and the luminous manifestation of our journey around the sun.”
Brad Pitt
The Exhibition
Robert Charles Mann: Seeing Time
Until September 21, 2025
Galerie Capazza
1 Rue des Faubourgs
18330 Nançay, France
www.galerie-capazza.com/
The Book
Robert Charles Mann : Solargraphs, Château Miraval
Hemeria
Preface by Brad Pitt
Format: 27 x 27 cm
112 pages
50 photos
Canvas cover, cardboard, screen-printed, square spine
ISBN: 978-2-490952-64-9
Bilingual book (French & English)
$71.00
http://www.hemeria.com
