Martin Parr

Following the announcement of Martin Parr's representation by Clémentine de la Féronnière, we are pleased to present the photographer's first solo exhibition at the gallery.

The exhibition will offer an overview of his work, spanning from the late 1970s until today. Since nearly fifty years, his images have held a unique aesthetic and a caustic humor, leaving a lasting mark on visual cultures. His sharp observations of the contemporary world's vanities have been recognized as a major turning point for international photography.

While his early black and white series from the 1970s laid the foundations for his photographic language – strong compositions taken on the spot, witty glimpses into surrounding communities, plays on contrast and oddities – he reached wider recognition in 1986, with the vivid colours of The Last Resort. This biting portrait of the British working class on holiday fed Martin Parr’s fascination for the beach, a substantial subject of his work. In the early 1990s, with his Small World series, Parr delved into mass tourism, a befitting embodiment of the new prevailing consumerism and sweeping global exchanges.

Beyond the holidays, Parr has peeked into every aspect of our contemporary lifestyles. Small local shops, horse races, Sunday cricket games, and up until his recent photographs of village fairs from 2022, his work keeps transfiguring our seemingly banal existences, pulling a force from every detail to set the composition in motion.

We must note Martin Parr’s will to report on the world as it is, with no filter and in all its absurdity, through striking images with multiple levels of understanding. With British wit and through an intertwining of social criticism and humour, his work remains as relevant after five decades.