The latest work of French luminary, Pierre Gonnord
London, December 2019 – Leica Gallery London marks the turn of the decade with an exceptional exhibition of Pierre Gonnord, a celebrated French photographer. Employing the stark effect of juxtaposition, ‘Nature Tales’, is a series of images that evocatively capture the profound connection between humans and animals.
‘Nature Tales’ will be the first showcase of Gonnord’s new diptychs portraying the relationship between man and nature. Drawing on the rich visual tapestry of age-old fables of mythical animals and magical creatures, Gonnord matches every animal with a human counterpart in an aesthetically compelling way. The viewer is invited to look beyond the genetic origin of each subject, feel their individual personality and the relationship between the pair.
A self-taught photographer, Gonnord first caught the photography world’s attention with his extraordinary portraits of people on the outskirts of society, such as prisoners and gypsies. Inspired by Velázquez, Rembrandt and Goya, Gonnord used compositions traditionally seen in 17th and 18th century portraiture. On how he conveys the hidden beauty and individuality of his subjects, Gonnord explains: “I choose my contemporaries in the anonymity of big cities because their faces narrate unique remarkable stories about our era. Sometimes hostile or distant and almost always fragile behind the opacity of their masks. They represent specific social realities and another concept of beauty. I also try to approach the unclassifiable, timeless individual to suggest things that have been repeated over and over since time began.”
Gonnord has held several solo exhibitions in Spain and France, including at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2005), Case Asia (2006), the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla (2006), the Museo de Bellas Artes de Santander (2007), the Centre of Photography at the University of Salamanca (2008). His work can also be found in international public and private collections.
Leica Gallery London’s exhibition, ‘Nature Tales’ will feature seven diptychs and one single photograph from Gonnord’s latest body of work.
‘Nature Tales’ will be exhibited from 13 December 2019 – 19 January 2020.
All photographs from the exhibition will be for sale.
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