"Photographic landscapes: reinventing reality"

Gregor Beltzig, Thierry Cohen, Xavier Dauny, Sabine Guédamour, Iris Hutegger, Jens Knigge, Olivier Mériel, Jacques Pugin, Nikolas Tantsoukes

Exhibition: 24 October – 25 November 2017
Opening reception: Tuesday, 24 October, 6-9pm

This autumn, the BnF (the French national Library) will hold a major exhibition, "Paysage français", une aventure photographique, 1984-2017, where two photographers of the gallery will show their works. Xavier Dauny, with his series Pylônes, methodically explores our environment and the traces left by human on the natural landscape. Guillaume Martial, who won the HSBC Prize in 2015, exposes "Parade", a series realized within the mission France(s) Territoire liquide, where the photographer animates the urban environment with an applied humor.

Upon invitation by the BnF, the subject of landscape is extended with a collective exhibition with works by artists of the gallery. Rather than a documentary vision of the landscape, their works offer an imaginary geography, born in the real world but metamorphosed by the camera, the printing or post-processing: a reality reinvented by photography.

With a great diversity of approach, nine photographers go beyond the idea of a photography merely reflecting reality. They invent their own landscapes and lead us towards fiction and dreams. By doing so, they offer us a moment of emotion, the beauty of a forest, a mountain or a river ...

Gregor Beltzig traveled to Armenia, his notebook pages where handwriting mingle with photographs and his souvenirs of the Silk Road in Fresson prints reveal a poetic vision of the world.

Following the approach of his fascinating "Darkened Cities", Thierry Cohen presents his new series in exclusivity and plunges the forest under the stars.

Xavier Dauny, exhibited at the BnF, shows his series "Domaines skiables" at the gallery.

Sabine Guédamour follows the Doubs river from its source to the Saône; more than the river, she describes the nature that surrounds it, the passing of seasons and the tenuous relationship between humans and water.

Aiming towards new dimensions, Iris Hutegger presents her latest works, these photographs of mountain landscapes embroidered with colors and emotions.

Jens Knigge, a master of the ancient process of platinum-palladium, captures the rough landscapes of Iceland in miniature views and sublime shades of grey.

Olivier Mériel amazed at the landscapes of his native Normandy, photographs the city, the coast and fields with a large-format camera and handprint them in the dark room. With contrast and sharpness, his photographs praise time, shadows, and light.

Jacques Pugin, in echo to the date of the first DATAR mission, exhibits his "Graffiti rouges", a series of landscapes realized in 1984 by this precursor of light painting and printed with the Fresson process.

Last but not least, Nikolas Tantsoukes, inspired by Dada, creates unique collages. Collecting images from old magazines, he composes surrealistic landscapes where a modern city is placed under the nave of a church or an alpine landscape in the ballroom of a Bavarian palace.