Photo London 2024 opens next week bringing together over a hundred exhibitors from 44 cities across four continents, showcasing important works from across the globe from the dawn of the medium to today.
Fair Director Kamiar Maleki comments:
Welcome to the ninth edition of Photo London. In its first decade the Fair has built a rich heritage and now has boundless potential. Photo London continues to attract a remarkable array of talent, and to bring exhibitors and collectors from far across the world to our fabulous Somerset House location. This year we will welcome over 100 exhibitors from 44 cities worldwide.
We take pride in curating a photography fair that encompasses so much more than the traditional model: featuring a dynamic programme of exhibitions and talks, not one but two prizes to champion and support the next generation of outstanding photographers, and above all an exhibitor list that both honours the medium’s illustrious history and also pushes its boundaries.
Our long-term partnerships with the FT, Belmond, Nikon and Hahnemühle have been critically important in helping us establish Photo London as one of the key events in the international art world calendar. Their work with the artists and galleries enriches what we do.
This year they are further enhanced by exhibitions with Deutsche Börse, Robert Heshkowitz and of course the 2024 Master of Photography Valérie Belin, and complemented by a talks programme curated by Thames & Hudson
EXHIBITORS
The best of the past, present and future of photography Exhibited works span from the 1840s to works made this year. The earliest historic photography on show comes courtesy of Robert Hershkowitz Ltd., whose presentation of British pioneers of the medium from the 1840s to the 1860s complements the Public Programme exhibition he is curating spanning the same period, ‘The Magic Art of French Calotype’. Early fashion portrait photography is presented by Roland Belgrave Vintage Photography with a rare set of early silver gelatin prints from the turn of the Nineteenth centurythat transcend all periods and styles.
Twentieth century greats include: a solo presentation of unseen colour photographs from the 1950s by New York legend Helen Levitt, shown by Zander Galerie; prints of Picasso and Bridget Bardot by Edward Quinn, on show at Suite 59 Gallery; Lee Miller’s post-war photography and portraits taken at her Sussex home Farleys, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year; images of life in Eastern Europe under the Iron curtain presented by Photon Gallery, including unique silver gelatin photographs by the renowned Czech photographic masters Jaromir Funke and Jaroslav Rössler; Persons Projects presents archival pieces by Grey Crawford’s from the ’70s shown in dialogue with works they have influenced across several generations of the Helsinki School; scenes from New York City in the late ’70s and ’80s by Arlene Gottfried, Joseph Rodriguez and Miron Zownir, shown by Galerie Bene Taschen; fashion photography by Steven Meisel and Max Vadukul presented by Ira Stehmann Fine Art.
Bridging the gap between the historic and the contemporary is the ‘Being There’ series (2023), presented by Galerie Binome / Magnin-A, an encounter between Lee Shulman / The Anonymous Project and Omar Victor Diop, in which the Senegalese photographer introduces himself into the vernacular slide images documenting Trente Glorieuses society. Further contemporary pieces pushing the frontiers of the medium are photorealistic 3D works by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo, represented with a solo show at Spazio Nuovo, which exist within a hybridization of reality and virtuality; while Open Doors Gallery presents Sander Coer’s latest series ‘POST’ (2023), which uses AI-generated imagery to explores the intersection of constructed memories and perceptions with a tender gaze that seeks to establish new perspectives on masculinity.
A strong feature of this year’s Fair is the number of galleries presenting solo shows, and especially ones honouring contemporary women photographers. These include: analogue prints by Jacquie Maria Wessels, on show at Galerie Baudelaire; Lydia Goldblatt’s lyrical harnessing of light, time and surface to consider themes of transience and emotional experience, presented by Robert Morat Galerie; Florence Di Benedetto at Podbielski Contemporary; Johnny Mae Hauser’s first presentation in the UK, on show with Homecoming Gallery; and Siân Davey who presents an installation based on her Prix Pictet-shortlisted project ‘The Garden’ (2021-2023) with Trolley Books / Michael Hoppen Gallery.
Among the solo exhibitions of male photographers is a show of David Bailey’s works at Camera Eye; while Peter Fetterman Gallery presents a booth dedicated to Michael Kenna’s mysterious photographs, often made at dawn or in the dark hours of night when light is at its most pliant, which uses long time-exposures to record details that the human eye is not able to perceive.
A special presentation of Turkish photography has been made possible by the support of TurkishBank, which introduces Istanbul galleries DIRIMART, Galeri Nev Istanbul, GALERIST, Martch Art Project, SANATORIUM, Versus Art Project and Vision Art Platform and Galeri Nev Istanbul to the Fair.
Other first-time exhibitors include Camera Eye, Cierra Britton Gallery, Fru Tholstrup Art Ltd., Gyldenpris Kunsthall, Leila Heller Gallery and Persiehl & Heine. Coming from Amsterdam, Antwerp, Bergen, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palma, Paris, Reykjavik, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Zürich, new exhibitors represent around 30% of the 2024 Fair.
Further outstanding galleries returning to the Fair include: BILDHALLE, Camera Work Gallery, Crane Kalman Brighton, Danziger Gallery, Fabrik Projects, Flowers Gallery, Galerie Écho 119, Galerie Nathalie Obadia (presenting Master of Photography, Valérie Belin),Galerie Olivier Waltman, Galerie—Peter—Sillem, Galerie Sophie Scheidecker, GBS Fine Art, Iconic Images Gallery, Messums, inside-out, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Purdy Hicks Gallery, Roland Belgrave, The Empty Circle, The Music Photo Gallery and 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS. The important role of the photo book in the photography ecosystem is illustrated through the continuing expansion of the Fair’s publishing section where ten publishers will be participating.
The Discovery Section
This year the acclaimed writer and curator Charlotte Jansen has been announced as the new
Curator of the Discovery section, Photo London’s showcase of the best-emerging photographers
and galleries.
Emphasising the importance of this aspect of the Fair, Jansen states:
It is vital to this ecosystem to have an area to encounter different kinds of projects outside the conventional gallery model, as well as different propositions about what photography might be and how it might be presented. Overall, this year, you’ll notice a majority of artists of all ages who have been long overlooked by the art and photography world, and devote their practice to interrogating dominant perspectives and inquiring deeply into their own; there’s a focus on durational projects, contrary to the idea of photography as the ‘point and shoot’ medium; also recurrent across the work on show is photography’s abiding power to bolster communities and empower.
Andi Galdi Vinko, who published the award-winning ‘Sorry I Disappeared I Gave Birth But Now I’m Back’ (a second edition of the book launches with Trolley Books at Photo London) is presenting a new collaborative project on the climate emergency and parenthood, with Deák Erika Galéria. Cierra Britton Gallery is bringing two incredible photographers exploring portrait photography as an act of reclamation of Black bodies: Kennedi Carter and Satchel Lee. Gina Cross projects showcases four artists — Kate Banazi, Jo Bradford, Gina Cross, Christine Wilkinson — working experimentally with the photographic process as a starting point. Exhibiting dynamic work across multiple dimensions, they each explore individual interests grounded in light, colour, and form.
Palm* Studios, from the photographic duo behind the renowned Palm Photo Prize, present a three-artist booth of Caroline Tompkins, Lola & Pani (a project on global teenhood) and fine art/fashion photographer Jacob Lillis, an overlooked British landscape photographer, also known for his work for Simone Rocha
Koop Projects presents a booth dedicated to African women artists exploring personal and political fractures through their family histories, folklore narratives and imagined archives, including one of the most significant artists working on the continent today, Senzeni Marasela, who represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale in 2015, and whose work will be shown alongside photographs by Tshepiso Maroposa, Maheder Haileselassie and Yassmin Forte. The young Accra-based fashion fine art photographer Kweku Yeboah will present a solo booth with Bright Gallery, exploring masculinity and queering gender, from a Ghanaian perspective.
Norwegian artists Tonje Birkeland and Maria Pasenau present a two-person booth — both concerned with building their own worlds through performative self-portrait photography, but with very different approaches: Birkeland carefully constructs and choreographs ‘Characters’, embarking on expeditions into the mountains, and creating meticulously researched costumes and using period cameras, to fill the gaps in Norway’s history and landscape where women’s bodies have been excluded; while Pasenau is known for her spontaneous, improvised and humorous self-portrait projects.
In tandem, JK Lavin will stage an epic, groundbreaking 8-year self-portraiture project ‘Crisis Experience’, made during a turbulent time in her personal life in the late 1970s and 1980s shot on Polaroid and never seen before in the UK, which is presented by Alta Vista, Los Angeles.
Also presented for the first time in the UK is a major, extensive project by an unknown German artist, Birgit Glatzel: ‘Friends of Friends of Friends’, began in 1998, for which Glatzel travelled the world to photograph — as the title suggests — friends of friends of friends with fascinating, surprising and deeply moving encounters recorded in the pictures that resulted.
Taiwanese artist Mia Liu, presented by UP Gallery, works with photography as a material and has a fascinating process: she goes on walks to collect found objects, creates photographs of them in the darkroom, and then shreds the silver gelatin to create photo-object sculptures.
Meanwhile, Rolf Art from Argentina and Roberto Huarcaya—a key figure in contemporary Peruvian photography—bring the large-scale photogram ‘Traces’, that was recently exhibited at Les Rencontres d’Arles and will soon represent Peru at the Venice Biennale in April 2024. Experimenting with ancient photographic techniques, this exhibition bewilders our senses with a singular representation that delves deeper into the great geographical regions of Peru and its culture: the Amazon jungle, the Pacific coast, and the Andes mountain range.
Photo London 2024 Awards
Photo London’s long standing support for emerging artists continues this year with the fourth edition of the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer of the Year Award which shines a spotlight on the most exciting young photographers showing at the Fair with the winner announced on the Preview Day. Last year’s winner, Léa Habourdin together with fellow shortlisted artists, will be presented in the Nikon space.
The hugely successful Photo London x Hahnemühle Student Award, returns for its second year, platforming outstanding works by students enrolled in photography degrees at UK universities. The aim of the award is to bring developing photographers’ portfolios to international attention and support early-career talent within the industry. The shortlists for both Awards will be announced ahead of the Fair.
Photo London’s Public Programme
This year’s Public Programme presents four exhibitions. The 2024 Master of Photography is one of France’s most popular and acclaimed photographers, Valérie Belin, who is showing ‘Silent Stories’, an exhibition spanning three three decades of her work. The French focus continues with the group show ‘The Magic Art of French Calotype. Paper Negative Photography 1846 – 1860’, curated by Robert Hershkowitz. Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation celebrates the 25th anniversary of its collection with the exhibition ‘See/Change — Art Collection Deutsche Börse @25’ curated by Anne-Marie Beckmann and Renée Mussai; and Belmond is presenting a photographic space that evolves their ‘Belmond Legends’ series featuring the artists Coco Capitán, Rosie Marks and Letizia Le Fur.
Thames & Hudson takes the lead on the Photo London talks in 2024, offering events from across their books and the world of photography. Curated by the publishing house as they celebrate their 75th anniversary, the dynamic and diverse programme will include highlights such as: Magnum Photo’s Peter van Agtmael discussing his compelling new book Look at the USA, a seminal chronicle of post 9/11 America at war and at home; prominent collector, photography dealer and gallery owner Howard Greenberg speaking on Saul Leiter, in what would have been the photographer’s centennial year; writer and collector-archivist Amy Sall on her hugely important and timely book ‘The African Gaze’ which is a comprehensive exploration of postcolonial and contemporary photography and cinema from Africa; and Antony Penrose on Lee Miller reflecting on a special year for the photographer with Farleys House celebrating its 75th anniversary and Miller’s much-awaited biopic LEE, starring Kate Winslet, due out in
September.
We are delighted to present such a vibrant mix of galleries and artists at all levels and to have extended the international reach of the Fair. As well as welcoming galleries and artists from over 40 cities, we have run most extensive programme ever to engage the interest of collectors in cities around the world including New York, Paris, Stockholm, Istanbul, Zurich and of course we have been working hard in London to engage collector networks beyond our photography strongholds — enthusing collectors of contemporary and other art forms with the excitement of collecting photography. As a result we are looking forward to welcoming many new collectors to the Fair in May. Our public programme this year reflects this approach with exhibitions celebrating 25 years of the Deutsche Borse prize as well as two exhibitions that underline the enduring importance of the French photography scene — from the magic of the early pioneers to the contemporary excellence of our Master of Photography Valerie Belin. We look forward to May with great anticipation. We truly believe that this year’s Fair will be a perfect foundation for the spectacular celebration of photography that will mark our tenth edition in 2025.
Photo London’s Founders Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad
Photo London 2024, 16th – 19th May 2024, Somerset House, photolondon.org
