René Burri – Impossibles Réminiscences
06.11 – 23.11.2013

Opening reception, book signing and lecture: Wednesday, November 6, from 6pm to 9pm, the photographer will be present

Lecture by Emilie Jouvin, at 7:30pm : Color photography in René Burri's work.
PhD student in art history at the Sorbonne, Emilie Jouvin works under the direction of Serge Lemoine and will soon defend her thesis on the photographer entitled "René Burri and the illustrated press, Inventory and analysis of the dissemination system of the photoreporter work (1955-2013)".

No need to introduce René Burri, the legendary Swiss photographer born in Zurich - his portraits of Che Guevara, Le Corbusier or Picasso are true icons !

However, there is still a lot to discover : Burri, who has been a member of the Magnum agency since 1959 and famous for his black-and-white photographs, always carried along at least two cameras. While shooting in black and white, he would always take color pictures.

René Burri says : “I have led a double life as a photographer - one in black and white and one in color.”

Some of his color photographs were published in 1959 by the Swiss magazine Du at a time when black and white was standard in the press, mostly for practical and financial reasons (color will start to appear progressively in newspapers and magazines during the 60’s). Rediscovered today, theses photographs reveal a hidden side to René Burri’s work, created over 50 years.

These images, mostly unknown, where recently published by Phaidon and will be exhibited for the first time in France at the gallery Esther Woerdehoff.
For many years, the gallery Esther Woerdehoff has maintained a deep friendship with the photographer. The gallery exhibited his mythical black and white photographs and his collages in 2007 and 2011.


Born in 1933, René Burri studied graphic design and photography at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich. At first more interested in documentary film, he finally became a photographer and opened a studio with Walter Binder. During his military service in 1953, he started taking pictures using a Leica.

In 1955, Life Magazine published his photo essay on a school for deaf-mute children. He became at first an associate and then, in 1959, a full member of the prestigious photo agency, Magnum. In 1962, he published his first book: Die Deutschen (The Germans).

As a Photo-reporter, René Burri travelled around the world to follow the great events of his time: in China during the student demonstrations on Tiananmen Square, in Berlin during the fall of the Wall, in Egypt, Japan, Brasil, Korea... The photographer has always sought to depict everyday life, street scenes, atmospheres in pictures filled with humanity. His photo essays were published in the most important magazines and newspapers such as Life, Paris-Match, Du, Stern, The New York Times.

Famous for his portrait of Che Guevera, René Burri photographed many other celebrities and artists (and even became friends with some of them) such as Giacometti, Picasso or Le Corbusier.

In 1998, he won the “Erich Salomon Prize” of the German Society for Photography and in 2011, the “ Swiss Press Photo Lifetime Achievement Award” for his entire career.

In 2004, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris held a major retrospective exhibition of his work, shown in many museums through Europe and South America.

In addition to his photographic work in black and white or in color, René Burri also filmed several documentaries and expressed himself as an artist with collages and drawings.

The photographer lives between Paris and Zurich. In 2013, the Fondation René Burri was created and its collection will be kept at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne.

René Burri – Impossibles Réminiscences
06.11 – 23.11.2013

Vernissage, dédicace et conférence : le mercredi 6 novembre, de 18h à 21h, en présence du photographe

Conférence d'Emilie Jouvin, à 19h30 : la photographie couleur dans l'oeuvre de René Burri.
Doctorante en histoire de l'art à la Sorbonne, Emilie Jouvin travaille sous la direction de Serge Lemoine et soutiendra prochainement sa thèse sur le photographe intitulée : "René Burri et la presse illustrée. Inventaire et analyse du système de diffusion de l'oeuvre du photoreporter (1955-2013)".

FR

Plus besoin de présenter René Burri, le légendaire photographe d’origine zurichoise - ses portraits du Che, de Le Corbusier ou de Picasso sont de vraies icônes !

Ce qui est une découverte : Burri, membre de l’agence Magnum depuis 1959 et célèbre pour ses photographies en noir et blanc, avait toujours sur lui au moins deux appareils photo. En parallèle du noir et blanc, il prenait des photographies en couleurs.

René Burri dit : “En tant que photographe, j’ai mené une double vie, une en noir et blanc et une en couleurs.”

Ses photographies en couleurs avaient pourtant été publiées dès 1959 par le magazine suisse Du à une époque où le noir et blanc régnait en maître dans la presse, en partie pour des raisons pratiques et budgétaires (ce n’est qu’au cours des années 60 que la couleur fera graduellement son apparition dans les journaux et les magazines). Elles permettent aujourd’hui de découvrir une face cachée de l’oeuvre de René Burri, créée au fil d’une carrière de plus de cinquante ans.

Ces images pour la plupart inédites ont fait l’objet d’une récente publication éditée par Phaidon et seront exposées pour la première fois en France à la Galerie Esther Woerdehoff.

La Galerie Esther Woerdehoff entretient depuis de nombreuses années une profonde amitié avec le photographe. Elle a exposé ses photographies mythiques en noir et blanc et ses collages, en 2007 et 2011.