Pierre de Fenoÿl entered the world of Photo-reportage in the early 1960s. In the lift of the Plaza Athénée, where he got a job as bellboy at the age of 17, he met Louis Dalmas, head of an important Photo-reportage agency, who immediately hired him, assigning him to a branch of the agency at Orly airport that was run by Daniel Angeli.
There he came into contact with Raymond Depardon, who was three years older than him. He then joined the Holmès-Lebel agency selling photographs, before joining Magnum Photos in 1966. There he was put in charge of the Henri Cartier-Bresson archives, going on to become Magnum’s director of archives. It was in this way that he developed his photographic eye.
During his spare time, he began to take photographs for himself. He was initially drawn to people in his entourage and the streets of Paris, before a first trip to India, in 1969, motivated him to produce more reflective work, which he tried to distribute and publish. Pierre de Fenoÿl’s desire to explore India was probably prompted by Cartier-Bresson’s powerful photographs of the country.
But rather than seeking to imitate the latter’s style, he produced a gentler, humbler vision, with fairly classic framing, in which people posed in the street for him pensively, calmly and gracefully.
The layout for this book is included in the exhibition, together with a group of modern prints, most of which have never been displayed before.
EXHIBITION
Pierre de Fenoÿl (1945-1987). An imaginary geography
From June 20th to October 31st, 2015
Jeu de Paume – Château de Tours
25 avenue André Malraux
37000 Tours
France
+33 (0)2 47 21 61 95
Tuesday – Sunday 2pm – 6pm
Free Entrance
http://www.jeudepaume.org
UPCOMING
Pierre de Fenoÿl Paysages conjugués
From September 5 to December 31st, 2015
Galerie Le Réverbère
38 Rue Burdeau
69001 Lyon
France
Tél. : +33 (0)4 72 00 06 72
http://www.galerielereverbere.com
BOOK
« Pierre de Fenoÿl. An imaginary geography »
Texts by Virginie Chardin, Jacques Damez, Peter Galassi.
Éditions Jeu de Paume / Xavier Barral.
240 pages 24 x 28 cm
144 photographs
Price : 50 euros
ISBN : 9782365110730
http://exb.fr
