MARC RIBOUD AND EUGENE ATGET | PRESS RELEASE

L. Parker Stephenson Photographs is pleased to present works by two of France's most recognized photographers of the 20th century; Marc Riboud (b. 1923) and Eugene Atget (1857-1927). These artists are linked by the decades they each devoted to documenting a place - China on one hand and Paris on the other - during a time of significant change. The resulting bodies of work are notable for the balance they strike between personal artistic vision and preservation of cultural heritage.

Marc Riboud, a Magnum photographer, left his native land to find his subjects. Shortly after joining the photo agency, he ventured east with his camera. After spending time in India, Riboud was, in 1957, one of the first Occidental photographers to be granted a visa to Communist China. Fascinated by the country and its people, he would return in 1965, 1971, 1979, and throughout the 80s and 90s. Over this 40-year period, he had the chance to witness more of the country's dramatic changes and rapid development than any other non-native photographer.

Although he typically focused on the people, mostly photographing in black and white, Riboud traveled to the Huang Shan mountains in the 1980s with color film. The series he made there is an homage to the dramatic verdant peaks shrouded in mist which have inspired Chinese artists and poets (most notably Li-Bai) for over a millennium. In 1989, the Louvre Museum exhibited this series and a book on the subject, Capital of Heaven, was published the following year. The set presented at the gallery is part of a small number of large dye transfer prints made in 1991.

Among other institutions that have hosted solo exhibitions of Riboud's work are the Art Institute of Chicago, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Menil Foundation, the International Center of Photography, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art, the Moscow House of Photography and 13 venues around China in 2010-2011. New York's Rubin Museum will host an exhibition of his photographs in the fall of 2014.

At the beginning of the 20th century another Frenchman, Eugene Atget, set out to photograph the world outside his door. A methodical self-imposed project spanning three decades yielded wide views and details of Paris' architecture as well as observations of human activity. Atget's photographs were discovered and lauded in the 1920s by a new generation of artists (among them Man Ray, Berenice Abbott and Walker Evans) who found his work surreal and modern. Eighty-six years after his death, Atget’s photographs continue to inspire.

The gallery's selection of rich albumen prints date from 1900 to 1914. Included are images of ironwork details from Versailles, floral wall décor from a private Parisian home, château views, as well as courtyards and staircases. Decorative and historical, modern, surreal, or spiritual, Atget's photographs offer riches to those who explore them, much as his surroundings in Paris did to him.

For additional information or to request images, please contact the gallery at +1 212 517-8700 or by email at info@lparkerstephenson.nyc.

L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, located at 764 Madison Avenue between 65th and 66th streets, is open Wednesday - Saturday from 11am-6pm.