Four years after his death, the work of Richard Aujard (1965–2021) is being celebrated for the first time through a retrospective spanning 35 years of photography. Entitled “11”, the exhibition will be held from October 10th to 12th, 2025, on the Île Saint-Louis, in a space that formerly housed the Cours Florent.
Athletes, actors, musicians, bikers: Ritchy, as his friends called him, traveled the world with his camera to capture the raw strength and flaws of his subjects.
“Sophistication makes me uncomfortable. I like both strength and flaws in people.” – Richard Aujard
His career began at 19, when he worked as an assistant at the Vogue studio in Paris, before moving to Australia, where he began his work on motorcycle clubs. This project, published in numerous magazines, was picked up worldwide. Then, in 1985, he met Mickey Rourke, with whom he lived in Los Angeles and with whom he formed a friendship that lasted over 35 years.
“I’ve known Ritchy longer than anyone. He’s devoted a lot of time and energy to traveling the world, and he’s managed to capture the souls he’s been looking for. I’m extremely proud of him.” – Mickey Rourke.
The exhibition brings together some fifty works: iconic and previously unseen photographs, as well as personal archives: letters and objects.
Two rare series will be unveiled: “Chopper Girl,” in which the artist transforms his photographs into hybrid pieces somewhere between photography and collage, and “Sang pour Sang,” a unique series in which each print is enhanced with his own blood, on loan from collector Jacques-Antoine Granjon for the first time in over ten years. “Putting my blood on my images means putting my whole self into them,” confided the artist, whose visceral commitment is felt in each print.
Richard Aujard : « 11 »
Public Exhibition: October 10–12, 2025 | 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
Ancien Cours Florent
35 Quai d’Anjou
75004 Paris
Instagram : @richardaujard
