Andre Kertesz from the book A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits by Michael Somoroff. © Micael Somoroff

Michael Somoroff grew up in photography, as the son of master still-life photographer Ben Somoroff, a member of the Philadelphia school of photographers the likes of Arnold Newman, Ben Rose, Irving Penn and other greats.

The elder Somoroff’s studies with legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch was an early influence on Michael Somoroff’s decision to pursue photography in his own right. Between 1977 and 1983, he documented his father’s associates and other twentieth century photographers in a never before published series of portraits, now compiled by Italian publisher Damiani in the book A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits by Michael Somoroff.

The European launch of Michael Somoroff’s book will be held on Friday, November 16, from 6:30 to 10 pm at the Art District Gallery in the Royal Monceau Hotel, 41 Avenue Hoche in Paris.

Michael Somoroff’s photographs will be on view at the gallery through November 17, and also presented at Feroz Gallery as part of Paris Photo from November 14 to 18. On Thursday, November 15, Michael Somoroff will be signing books at the Feroz Gallery booth (C2) from 2:30 to 4 pm.

(more…)

An image from the series “Totem de Vie.”  © Kate Fichet. Courtesy of the artist.

Parisian photographer Kate Fichet’s offbeat portraits mask the faces of her subjects amid a collection of the most significant objects in their lives, which hang from their torsos in a totemic mishmash.

A recent graduate of the school Ecole Cantonal d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland, Fichet was selected as the judges’ favorite in the French photography competition SFR Jeunes Talents (SFR Young Talents), organized by the mobile telephone network SFR.

Works by Fichet and four other winners: Cedric Van Turtelboom, Erica Kovanen, Valerie Archeno, and Adrien Golinelli, plus two honorable mentions, Aurélien Villette and Patrick Willocq, will be featured in an exhibition as part of Paris Photo, which opens this evening at the Grand Palais in Paris, France and runs through Sunday, November 18.

To learn more about SFR Jeunes Talents, view the winning photographers’ portfolios, as well as submissions from all 1,256 entrants to the competition, click here.

–Jill Waterman

 ”Fata Morgana” (above) and “Bazar” (below) from the series, “Solo,” both © 2011 – 2012 Corinne Mercadier. Courtesy Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris, France.

French artist Corinne Mercadier photographed primarily with Polaroid SX 70 until the materials were discontinued in 2008. Her subsequent shift to digital photography lends her imagery an even more refined sense of metaphysical theatrics, as seen in work from her two newest series, “Solo” and “Black Screen.”

In the series “Solo,” anonymous figures and graphic geometries hang in the balance under black skies that limit one’s field of view, while in “Black Screen” the common objects that populate abandoned spaces emit an irradiated glow due to a positive-negative reversal process, which harkens back to pre-digital photographic alchemy.

Both series are featured in Mercadier’s current exhibition “Devant un Champ Obscure” (In Front of a Dark Field) at the Gallery Les Filles du Calvaire from November 3 to December 1, 2012, as part of the Month of Photography in Paris. Elsewhere in France, a retrospective of the artist’s work from 1992 to the present is on view at the Maison d’Art Bernard Anthonioz in Nogent-sur-Marne from November 8 to December 20.

A monograph of Mercadier’s photography was recently published by éditions Filigranes. At 4:30 pm on Friday, November 17, Mercadier will be signing books at the publisher’s booth (#EE20) as part of Paris Photo at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

-Jill Waterman

(more…)

 Zacharie © 2011 Alexandra Catiere, from the exhibition Ici, Par-delà les Brumes, presented by BMW Art & Culture.

 Originally from Belarus, Alexandra Catiere studied at the International Center of Photography in New York and worked in the studio of Irving Penn before moving to Paris in 2008. In 2011, Catiere was selected as the first recipient of the BMW Artist Residency at the Musee Nicephore-Niepce in Chalon sur Saone, France. Her proposal for the residency called for mixing ancient photographic processes and contemporary techniques in an exploration of time and space.

Catiere’s access to cameras and materials from the museum aided her photographic explorations of the everyday lives of local residents during the relative quiet and somber atmosphere of winter. In June 2012, Catiere’s delicate, ephemeral images were published in a book by éditions Trocadéro.

An exhibition of Catiere’s work, entitled Ici, Par-Dela Les Brumes (Here, Beyond the Mists), produced by BMW Art & Culture, is on view from November 14 to 18, 2012, as part of Paris Photo at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

–Jill Waterman