Introduction
After ten years in the Marais, the VU’ Gallery has a new look, by investing a new space full of history: the hotel Paul Delaroche, in the “Nouvelle Athènes” district of the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Breaking with the industrial aspect that defined it in recent years, the spaces of this charming hôtel particulier offer new exhibition conditions for artists, and reception conditions for collectors, as well as a bookshop. This is where six exhibitions a year are presented. Simply, to show the variety of contemporary stylistic approaches, to confront the outlooks of today, interacting with their differences.
What is your point of view on the financial side of the photographic market today?
Today, photography doing better than ever. Better than yesterday, even. The constantly evolving spheres of technology, economy and visual culture have revived our curiosity and made us question what once seemed certain. Never have we shared so many images across the globe. Never has it been so deeply rooted in our daily lives.
It’s no surprise photography is doing so well. However, the profusion of photographs and their ever-growing audience, not to mention the constant reinvention of media through which we diffuse them, in no way diminish the significance of phenomena and their reality.
Neither the subject of a photograph nor significance of an image suffer from such a brutal expansion: twelve hours after a photographer uploads a report to our VU’ database, between 70,000 and 100,000 users have already downloaded it to their phones and tablets.
Is this the end of photography? The press simply cannot financially support photo-journalism. This is hardly news; photographers have and will always forge new work methods. Whether it’s a web documentary or the latest digital print, none of these new photographic forms existed yesterday.
Is this the end of the still image? Through the ArtTrust certificate [an authentification and tracking system for artworks] we can ensure the uniqueness of every print. The refinement of lighting and printing techniques, among others, are not qualitative changes, but rather new opportunities for photographers.
Can a collection still satisfy our need for conservation? Merely asking the question leaves a bitter taste, a nostalgia for days past. On the other hand, it promises a bright future. Xavier Soule
Artists exhibited
Jean-Christian Bourcart, Juan Manuel Castro Prieto, Denis Darzacq, JH Engström, Laurence Leblanc, Anders Petersen, Jeffrey Silverthorne, Christer Strömholm, Winship Vanessa
VU’ la Galerie
Stand : B61
Hôtel Paul Delaroche
75009, Paris France
T. +33 (0)1 53 01 85 81
