THIS WEEK...

Back from Paris Photo:

The 27th edition of Paris Photo took place at the newly renovated Grand Palais and featured 240 participants, including galleries and publishers from 34 different countries. I enjoyed many aspects of the weekend and look forward to bringing you a podcast special from the event very soon.

It looks like it was a big hit with record attendance, an aspect of it that I did notenjoy! It was packed at the weekend, which I guess is a real testament to the fact that ordinary members of the public (in Paris at least) are sufficiently interested in photography to fork out €40 for a ticket so they can elbow their way through the throng in order to look at, and hopefully enjoy, some good pics. But, lets face it, it's a terrible environment in which to look at artwork. 

Here's some of the closing debrief / propoganda from the press office: The record number of visitors (80,000) testifies to the growing popularity of the event, reflected in an increase of 23% compared with 2023 (65,000 visitors), with 7,000 collectors and VIPs (+19%), including 40% from overseas and almost 200 international institutions.

Julian Sander’s exhibition of August Sander’s monumental work People from the Twentieth Century, a series of 619 photographs being shown for the first time Europe, emphasised the fair’s strong commitment to ambitious artistic projects.

The excellent results of the principal section reflect the market’s vigour. The solo shows were a huge commercial success, including the Fraenkel gallery and Hiroshi Sugimoto (works sold for between €20,000 and €500,000), and Mariane Ibrahim with the Lorraine O’Grady solo show. Pace sold photographs by Irving Penn, Peter Hujar, Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Frank, with works going for as much as €350,000. Thomas Zander’s Robert Frank show was a big success. There was also great enthusiasm for the works of Josef Sudek at Howard Greenberg. Several complete editions of Tyler Mitchell at Gagosian were sold out at the preview. Works by Peter Hujar ranging in price from €30,000 to €50,000 were sold at Stephen Daiter. At 193 Gallery, a polyptych by Joana Choumali found a buyer at €80,000, while a work by the Italian Massimo Vitali was acquired for $73,000 at Edwynn Houk. Robert Morat had considerable success with Christian Patterson and Lisa Darjes.

There was also a very positive dynamic for French galleries. Nathalie Obadia sold works by Youssef Nabil, Andres Serrano and Valérie Belin, for prices ranging from €15,000 to €30,000. Maubert sold all of Nicolas Floch’s works in the form of columns (€20,000 each), Christian Berst sold works by American photographer John Kayser for €80,000. The Lille gallery Bacqueville achieved good sales for the three artists it was showing, with diptychs by David De Beyter (€20,000 each), as well as ten works by Thomas Devaux and pieces by Bérangère Fromont.

The new Voices section, which gave three international curators carte blanche, was highly successful, with strong, committed entries. The Latin American galleries selected by Elena Navarro recorded several sales with works reaching €40,000, while those of Chinese photographer Cai Dong Dong, invited by Azu Nwagbogu, also drew interest. In this section, several works joined prestigious institutions, including that of Aurora Király, which was acquired by MoMA.

The Émergence section, with its international section, led to strong interest from private collectors and public institutions alike, foreign in particular. The politically engaged work of Letizia Le Fur (Julie Caredda) was a huge success, with works sold for between €3,000 and €10,000. The sensitive work of Lucille Boiron was also very popular, with sales ranging from €3,000 to €24,000. For its part, the Afronova gallery sold almost all of artist Vuyo Makeba’s works.

The Digital section was a stunning success right from the opening days, with total sales of one million euros. Jack Butcher’s series (laCollection), made up of 80 unique works, both physical and NFTs, sold out during the first days for €300,000. Alkan Avcıoğlu (Tender) was another notable success. His series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace brought in €52,000 for 150 online works and €22,000 for the physical prints. This section was distinguished by the diversity of purchase platforms, which boosted sales: physical purchases from galleries were supplemented by online purchases through the galleries’ sales platforms.

The Elles x Paris Photo platform and its exhibition devised by Raphaëlle Stopin showcased the work of 51 artists selected from the galleries. It was produced in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and supported by Women In Motion, a Kering programme that highlights the role of women in the arts and culture. Notable sales included Mari Katayama’s poetic work in black and white at Suzanne Tarasieve, which was acquired for €17,000, and Valérie Belin at Edwyn Houk went for €16,000, while the work of Sabiha Çimen, exhibited at Loock as part of the Elles x Paris Photo selection, was also snapped up.

The publishing sector, featuring 45 French and international specialist publishers, enjoyed a very positive fair, with more than 400 artists’ signings and the award of the Paris Photo - Aperture book prize to Tsai Bing Bing, Taysir Batniji, Joy Gregory, Taous Dahmani and Hady Barry.

Awards roundup:

It seems to be awards season in photoland. The results of the annual Taylor Wessing Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery have been announced, following an opening event last night.

Steph Wilson has won first prize (£15,000) for her portrait Sonam. 

Second prize (£3,000) was awarded to Adam Ferguson for Kukatja Pintupi boy Matthew West, hunting trip, Wirrimanu/Balgo, Kukatja Country, Western Australia, 2023; Pintupi-Luritja Lutheran Pastor Simon Dixon, Ikuntji/Haast Bluff, Arrernte Country, Northern Territory, 2023; and Cousin sisters Shauna and Bridget Perdjert, Kardu Thithay Diminin Clan and Murrinhpatha language group, Kardu Yek Diminin Country, Air Force Hill, Wadeye, Northern Territory, 2023 – all from the series Big Sky.

Third prize (£2,000) was awarded to Tjitske Sluis for Mom from the series Out of Love, Out of Necessity. The Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission (£8,000) was awarded to Jesse Navarre Vos for Mom, I’ll follow you still – from the series I’ll come following you. See some of the winning images in this piece from The Guardian.

The Aussie based Head-On Foundation has also announced the results of its 2024 Photo Awards. The Head On Photo Awards are part of Australia's annual Head On Photo Festival, which offers a prize pool of $70,000. The awards recognize photography in three categories: landscape, portrait, and student.

• 2024 Exposure Winner
  Antonio Denti for a photo of children playing with technology on a Mediterranean coast near Mount Etna .

• 2024 Portrait Winner
  Drew Gardner for a black and white image of a descendant of a US Civil War slave.

• 2024 Landscape Winner
  Kinga Wrona for a photo of a house in La Palma after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted.

Finally, the Royal Photographic Society has announced the recipients of its 2024 awards. Full list at the link.

Congratulations to one and all. And to those of you who feel like you never win: 1.) Remember you're in very good company and 2.) A lot of people who eventually do win once also believed that they never would!

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