The Paolo Roversi exhibition at the Palais Galliera unveils 50 years of photographs, revealing how the artist has embraced fashion to create a unique body of work. This marks the first monograph dedicated to the photographer in Paris.
Of Italian origin, Paolo Roversi settled in Paris in 1973. Since then, he has worked for prestigious magazines such as Italian and French Vogue, Egoïste, and Luncheon. His career is characterized by collaborations with leading fashion designers, including Yohji Yamamoto, Romeo Gigli, and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons.
From his early years of learning, the choice of studio, large-format camera, and Polaroid define the photographer's working method and aesthetic, which successfully adapts to digital. His signature style is unmistakable: soft sepia tones in black and white daylight, and the density and depth of colors in torchlight. Over the years, Paolo Roversi has sought and invented his own photographic language, embracing chance and accidents as opportunities for renewal.
The greatest models have passed in front of his lens. They always pose with simplicity; their presence is intense. Each of his fashion photographs is a portrait. Paolo Roversi stands both at the heart of the system and at a distance, far from the fleeting trends of fashion. In search of beauty, he constructs a singular body of work untouched by time.
This exhibition, bringing together 140 works including unpublished images, Polaroid prints, and archives (magazines, catalogs...), unveils the professional and artistic journey of an exceptional fashion photographer. Leading the visitor from shadow to light, the scenography transforms the Palais Galliera into the artist's studio, an imaginary space, the theater of endless possibilities.
