Last week 173 galleries from all continents had gathered for Paris Photo inside the great halls of the Grand Palais.
After Friday’s devastating attacks Paris Photo fair did not open for public anymore, as the city shut down in mourning. Openings elsewhere in Paris coincided with the fair and artists were present. Many of those shows will continue. The Grand Palais retrospective on French photographer Lucien Clergue, who was also the founder of the Arles photo festival, will be open until February next year.
On Thursday I spent the day exploring Paris Photo booths and saw vintage prints of magical mid-19th century landscapes as well as famous 60s and 70s fashion photographs. And then the most recent abstract, camera-less explorations, where the ephemeral subject is just light. Spanning 150 years, the fair is a fascinating overview of the human gaze and the framing of the world: buildings, nature, fashions, people.
