Jaime de la Jara, 'Lies'.
Jiang Zhi.
Simon Norfolk.
Luigi Ghirri.
Vasco Araujo.
Showcasing 104 exhibitors from 17 countries on its eleventh edition, this year's Paris Photo is ready to show why it's still the premier international fair for still photography. Its popularity is on the increase, too - 40,000 visitors are expected to fill the Carrousel du Louvre from Thursday to Sunday (15-18 Nov).
Paris Photo seems to have it all for the photo-inclined - plenty of vintage and contemporary work as well as interesting presentations of the latest trends and award-winning projects, and a good selection of special events and lectures to fully voice its 360 degree perspective on the medium.
The event hosts two prestigious prizes of its own, too: the BMW-Paris Photo Prize, now on its third year, and the SFR Jeunes Talents award, which this time will be a partner in the fair at large for the first time. Its winner, Jean-Stephane Cantero, and shortlisted artists - Takeko Fujisawa, Chrystel Caparros, Nicolas Krabal, Lida Ghodsi and Regis Cintas-Flores - were selected by a panel of judges last month and will be showing new work in the fair's 'Statement' area, under the theme of 'Urban savoir - vivre'.
The respected BMW-Paris Photo Prize gives all of its shortlisted participants a chance to show their specially-commmissioned work during the fair; one of them will be selected at the award ceremony on Thu, 15 Nov, and be awarded a 12,000 euro prize. Last year's winner was Mathieu Bernard-Reymond. This year, the theme behind the application is 'Water, Origin of Life'. My pick of possible winners for the fluid-centred brief - Jitka Hanzlova's 'Untitled (Hungry Fishes)', Alessandra Sanguinetti's 'Rain', and Trent Parke's 'My son Jem is born'. But there's plenty for every taste in the short list.
As every year, the fair devotes special attention in one of its sections to a chosen country; in 2007, the honour goes to Italy, which will be fantastically represented by the work of leading Italian photographers from the 1970s to today. Curated by art critic Walter Guadagnini, a thematic exhibition on landscape and special exhibitions of eight artists singled out for their emblematic representation of their scene (Bianco e Valente, Lorenza Lucchi Basili, and more), as well as The Project Room, featuring contemporary video from important Italian collections, will be one of the most exciting parts of the fair. Book tickets here.
Lupe Nunez-Fernandez
PARIS PHOTO
15-18 Nov
Preview 14 Nov, 7-10pm
15 & 17: 11am-8pm
16: 11am-9pm
18: 11am-7pm
99 rue de Rivoli,
Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
General admission € 15
Groups/students: € 7.5 (exclusively for Art students, with proper student card), Group fare only on site
Catalogue: €20
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