This year’s Photo London — coming hot on the heels of September 2021’s sixth edition, the world’s
first international photography fair in almost two years — brings together exhibitors from across the
globe and presents a thrilling range of photography in all its forms, ranging from images from the
dawn of photography to new pieces that redefine the medium.
Photo London’s mission has always been to show the best of the past, present and future of photography. This edition is no exception, presenting exhibitors and artists whose work not only
Fair Founders Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad
delights and surprises, but in many cases also challenges assumptions about what photography can
be. Invention is at the core of photography’s DNA and with it the ability to reach beyond its own moment — whether it is the Countess de Castiglione sitting down to make a series of ground-breaking self-portraits in 1856, the experimentations of photographers from the Kharkiv School in Ukraine in the 1970s to develop a personal aesthetics in defiance of the codes of social realism, or indeed the work of this year’s Master of Photography Nick Knight, whose photographic practice encompasses sculpture and painting and for whom the purpose of photography is “to show the world not just who we are, but who we want to be.”’
EXHIBITORS
Solo presentations and group shows
Significant solo presentations at this year’s Fair include: Mikhael Subtozky at Goodman Gallery (London, Cape Town, Johannesburg), bringing together key works across his oeuvre and including the Ponte City collaboration with Patrick Waterhouse; Melanie Manchot at Parafin (London); Hannah Hughes’ ‘Mirror Images’ series at Robert Morat (Berlin); Marianne Maric’s transdisciplinary explorations of the body at Christophe Guye (Zurich); a celebration of the work of Edward Burtynsky at Flowers Gallery (London); two solo presentations at Galerie-Peter-Sillem (Frankfurt) — the Russian-American artist Anastasia Samoylova who is nominated for this year’s Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize and Alia Ali, the winner of our 2021 Emerging Photographer People Choice’s Award; and the first recipient of The Economist’s 1843 magazine’s mentorship programme for black photographers, Musa Tukurah.
Group presentations featuring major artists include: Aperture (New York) bringing Nan Goldin, Robert Capa, Gregory Halpern, Viviane Sassen among others; Bene Taschen (Cologne) are showing Sebastião Salgado alongside Jamel Shabazz and Jeff Mermelstein; Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière (Paris) presents works by FLORE, Martin Parr and Frédéric Stucin; Galleria Thomas Zander (Cologne) featuring Tod Papageorge, Mitch Epstein and Judith Rossa; Galerie Sophie Scheidecker (Paris) displays works by Irving Penn amongst great other; Grob Gallery (Switzerland) presents works of William Klein; Magnum (London, Paris) showcases works by Khalik Allah, Bruce Davidson, Yael Martínez; and Michael Najjar will unveil his a spectacular Starbase triptych as part of a group show at ARTITLEDContemporary (Herpen).
There will also be a special booth dedicated to Peter Fetterman’s (Santa Monica) ‘The Power of Photography’ — a monumental project inspired by the long months of lockdown that includes masterworks by Henri Cartier Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Sabine Weiss, Sarah Moon and Elliott Erwitt.
Vintage and classic photography
The Fair’s ongoing commitment to the presentation of classic and vintage photography is everywhere in evidence. James Hyman Gallery (London) presents rare ‘self-portraits’ dating between the 1850s and the 1890s by one of the greatest figures in the history of photography, the Countess of Castiglione. Hershkowitz (London) and Roland Belgrave (Brighton) continue to exhibit rare and one-off pieces of nineteenth-century travel, history and exploration. Curatorial’s (L.A) booth celebrates the 1920s with mammoth Vintage gelatin-silver prints by Emil Otto Hoppé of America’s industrial landscape combined with Paul Outerbridge’s 1920s vintage nudes. Lee Miller Archives (East Sussex) presents ‘Surrealist Eye’, focusing on the Surrealist way of seeing in Lee Miller’s work from as early as Paris in the 1930s through the many chapters of her life and shows these alongside works by her husband Roland Penrose.
At Suite 59 Gallery (Amsterdam) vintage prints on the theme of ‘The Artist and his studio’ are on show, presenting images of intimate observations of world-renowned artists in their habitat including Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Julian Schnabel, Jean Cocteau, Yan Pei Ming and David Hockney. England & Co’s (London) presentation explores photography’s contribution to the radical art produced by international avant-garde artists in the 1960s and 1970s, encompassing artists’ use of photography as medium and method for documentation, experimentation, and visual statements about politics and feminism with a particular focus on Anne Bean.
New developments in photography
The acclaimed Discovery section for emerging galleries offers an opportunity to check the pulse of what’s going on at the frontiers of photography. Returning exhibitors include Euqinom (San Francisco) featuring works by Christine Elfman, Ansley West Rivers and Rodrigo Valenzuela; Hi-Noon (London) showing Yushi Li, Bowei Zhang and Melanie Issaka; Photon from Ljubljana presenting work by Anikó Robitz, Tomo Brejc, Dino Kužnik and Ladislav Postupa — and new exhibitors LS10 from London, showing work by young Iranian photographers including Ebrahim Noroozi, Jassem Ghazbanpour and Jalal Sepehr. Discovery Curatorial Advisor Tim Clark comments: ‘Many of these tackle critically important subjects and themes, including those related to diasporic experiences, the relationship between the body and architectural space, the effects of climate change or representations of gender, in the process providing many instances of beauty, provocation, comfort, revelation and, of course, sustained exploration into the materiality of print and lens-based media.’ In keeping with its curatorial determination to present future directions in photography, this year’s Fair features a special section entitled Photography Breaking Boundaries that includes sculptural works by Miriam Naeh represented by PLEASE QUEUE HERE (London), Paul Chapellier represented by SEAGER Gallery (London), Adam Jeppesen represented by Black Box Projects (London), Gallery FUMI (London) will exhibit Studio Glithero, Walter and Zoniel’s ‘Rainbow Cam’ and a presentation on photography and NFTs by Initial Labo.
The Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer of the Year presents the work of last year’s
winner, Heather Agyepong, together with fellow shortlisted artists Almudena Romero and Alia Ali,
The winner of this year’s award will be announced at the Nikon space on 11th May
Galleries coming from near and far
Photo London will feature exhibitors coming from all across the globe, with 35 cities represented at this year’s fair. Among these are galleries returning from territories that were unable to attend in September, including Galerie Thomas Zander (Cologne), Persons Projects (Berlin), Reflex (Amsterdam), Versus Projects (Istanbul) and American dealers Euqinom (San Francisco), Peter Fetterman (Santa Monica) and Holden Luntz (Palm Beach).
As a result of Photo London’s partnership with the World Photography Organisation/ PHOTOFAIRS PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai, there will be a special China Showcase featuring: Hu Weiyi (HdM Gallery), Stanley Fung (M Art Center), Guanyu Xu and Hailun Ma (Gaotai Gallery), Chen Ronghui and Liu Ke (Three Shadows +3 Gallery), Jiang Zhi (X Contemporary Art), Huang Xiaoliang and Wang Juyan (see+ gallery), Yang Yongliang and Guo Guozhu (Matthew Liu Fine Arts).
Photographers from Africa and its diaspora are represented by Afrikaris (Paris) showing contemporary portraiture by Saïdou Dicko, Nana Yaw Oduro, ‘Àsìkò and Marc Posso; 193 Gallery (Paris), showing works by the young artists’ Derrick Ofosu Boateng from Ghana and Thandiwe Muriu from Kenya; first-time exhibitor Doyle Wham (London) presenting works by legendary photographer, stylist and icon Trevor Stuurman, known both for his significant contribution to the global fashion industry and his celebratory portraiture; and DADA Gallery (London) presenting the works of Daniel Obasi that explores gender non-conforming expressions, in an African setting, along with emerging Ivorian photographer Nuits Balneaires, and Djibril Drame whose works reflect the many aspects of Africa’s multifaceted history and innumerable intertwined cultures, presenting alternative African narratives. The following exhibitors are representing photography from Latin America: Carcara Photo Art (São Paulo) presenting previously unpublished photographs by Luiz Antonio Nogueira Garrido of John Lenon with Yoko Ono from 1969 during their honeymoon in Paris and the recording of ‘Give Peace a Chance’; Albumen (London) is showing a ‘Latin American Salon’ with works by four photographers coming from Brazil, Bolivia and Columbia; and ALMANAQUE fotográfica (Mexico City) presents a group show of Mexican and French photographers.
Photo London is especially pleased to welcome several galleries that are devoting their booths to supporting Ukraine: Alexandra de Viveiros (Paris) is presenting seven artists belonging to the celebrated Kharkiv School forged a new iconography in the ’70s that defied the codes of socialist realism and repressive censorship; while Ilex Gallery (Warsaw) is exhibiting works of the most outstanding contemporary photographers alongside legendary artists from the Kharkiv school. Both galleries are raising funds for the artists and their families, as well as the Ukrainian institutions fighting to save their country and its culture, through the proceeds from the Fair. Joining the relief effort, Sprüth Magers (London) and David Zwirner (New York, Paris, London and Hong Kong) are showing prints of Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s images from his time spent in Odessa, Ukraine in the late ’90s. The funds raised from the sale of these will immediately go to grass-roots charities to help those suffering from the humanitarian crisis.
Further UK exhibitor highlights include: The Photographers Gallery including in their presentation a series of works by the distinguished Iranian photographer Gohar Dashti; Imitate Modern showing Tyler Shields; UNIT 7 /Prahlad Bubbar returning with works from two photographers Eckart Muthesius and Shubha Taparia, who have made architecture the focus of their practice; The Gallery of Everything presenting a selection of photographic works from the canon of 20th Century alternative art makers; and Iconic Images presenting ‘Rockers, Royals and Rebels’ including works by Gered Mankowitz, Kevin Cummins, Bill Wyman who will be doing special book signings at the Fair.
An expanded publisher’s section
Thanks to a collaboration with Somerset House, Photo London has been able to extend the footprint of its publisher’s section. Joining stalwarts such as Aperture (New York) and Thames and Hudson (London), there are also newcomers to the fair: OSMOS (New York), Dobedo (London, Setanta Books (London) Jane & Jeremy (Brighton) and Overlapse Books (London), Black Box Publishing (Cape Town).
PHOTO LONDON’S 2022 PUBLIC PROGRAMME
Exhibitions
The Master of Photography exhibition this year is ‘Nick Knight: Future’, an exhibition of key works across Knight’s career from the ’80s until today. Spanning fashion, portraiture, still life and landscape, the works are realised as photography, film, installation and a vast new sculpture. As Knight explains, photography is the jumping-off point for a creative vision that encompasses all media and combines art historical influences with the newest technologies: ‘being a photographer is actually not about what you see, it’s about what you feel and that feeling can be transformed into any art form,’ he says. ‘We are probably in the most exciting time for creativity ever.’
The 2nd exhibition in this year’s Public Programme is a homage to the photographer Frank Horvat (1928 – 2020). Throughout a career that lasted seven decades, Horvat was constantly experimenting and adapting to new technologies making work that transcended the prevailing photographic orthodoxy and revolutionised fashion photography. Curated by his daughter Fiammetta Horvat, the exhibition focuses on Horvat’s fashion work for leading magazines and images depicting Paris at night.
Talks programme
Photo London Talks Programme is curated by William A Ewing. The talks will be held both at the Fair and online. Talks include artist Anastasia Samoylova in conversation with writer, curator, artist, and educator David Campany; Scottish documentary photographer Polly Braden and writer and art critic Hettie Judah, who discuss topics raised in Polly’s work Holding the Baby; plus visual artist Melanie Manchot talks to Dr David Dibosa about her multifaceted and performative practice that embraces photography, film, video, and installation. Photo London’s Official Partner Nikon showcases a strong line-up of Fair talks to complement the programme and present a thrilling range of photography in all its forms.
To reserve a place at a talk, visit: photolondon.org/talks-programme/
