Le Paris d'Agnès Varda, de-ci, de-là

Boek gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van tentoonstelling Agnès Varda's Paris in Musée Carnavalet.

The exhibition Agnès Varda’s Paris, from here to there explores the work of Agnès Varda (1928-2019) from a fresh angle.

It showcases the artist’s still little-known photographic work and highlights the important role of her courtyard-studio on the rue Daguerre in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, in her life and creation, from 1951 to 2019. On a broader level, the exhibition reveals the importance of the French capital in a free and prolific body of work that never took the easy way out but skilfully wove a dialogue between documentary and fiction.

After shedding light on Agnès Varda’s fledgling steps as a photographer, the exhibition immerses visitors in her courtyard-studio, at a time when it was both a photography studio, a development and printing laboratory, and the site of her first solo exhibition in 1954. The same courtyard is then revisited from the 1960s. By then, Agnès Varda was sharing it with filmmaker Jacques Demy, and it was frequented by well-known names from the cinema, after also having attracted figures from the world of theatre.

In the next section, the exhibition presents an ensemble of photographs that highlight the offbeat, humorous, and eccentric gaze through which the artist observed the people and streets of the capital. The filmmaker’s view of Paris is evoked in a chronological thematic sequence, showing films shot entirely in Paris, beginning with Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962). In it, the city is filmed in such a way that it resonates with the female protagonist’s emotions.

The result of more than two years of research, this exhibition is based primarily on Agnès Varda’s photographic collection and Ciné-Tamaris archives. It compares her photographic and cinematic work through an ensemble of 130 prints, many of which have never been seen before, as well as excerpts from films shot entirely or partly in Paris.

It also presents publications, documents, objects belonging to the artist, posters, photographs from various film shoots, and even a sculpture of her cat Nini.

Source: https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en/exhibitions/agnes-vardas-paris