Today, Jean Larivière is more discreet, but he never stopped working in his Paris studio. An exhibition last spring, in a gallery in the Saint-Germain district in Paris, reminded us of his talent, with the presentation of a few prints. The Eye of Photography wanted to extend this return to the art scene by dedicating a day that allows us to revisit some of the major pieces of an atypical course. It will be remembered that he first came across with a visual search that will find its place among other things in the Zoom magazine of the 1970s; then he approaches the craft of applied art, nourished by his first experiences. Today, he has resumed the thread of a totally personal creation. His ambitious achievements rub shoulders here with the assignments for fashion and advertising, which have become “iconic” and have made him one of the most noticed and envied photographers of his generation. One remembers, among other things, the campaigns he has signed for the Louis Vuitton baggage handler, each time based on unusual requirements and means. On the occasion of this publication, Jean Larivière took the pen to relate the circumstances in which his photographs had been made. He also mixed on some occasions drawing and video that reflect other facets of his talent and inventiveness. From this series, the taste of adventure, a playful spirit and a great freedom of expression are thus apparent. The themes also speak of his extreme pleasure of travelling, associated with modes of transport such as the plane that seems to have always fascinated him, like a child. In the studio, Jean Larivière impresses with his sense of light and his mastery of black and white. He also touches us by raising the veil on certain aspects of his existence, with in particular the portrait of his adoptive mother.
The time has come today to give Jean Larivière the opportunity to show in a large space a museum and a book – the different moments of his creative life. For one must be able to contemplate one’s work as it was thought in its final format; a work that often develops beyond the boundaries of the two-dimensional image, integrating movement and sound, among others. May this publication in The Eye of Photography be a new step in the understanding of an adventure that is not lacking in genius.
Gabriel Bauret
