Feast your eyes at the Paris Photo fair this year: more than 1,600 artists

If you're a collector of art, then the Paris Photo fair is a must destination for anyone passionate about collecting art photography. This is a huge exhibition that traverses the past of photography from the 1800s to the present moment, displaying a show of contemporary trends as well.

This photography show reunites more than 1,600 artists, around 150 galleries, and numerous publishers from 31 countries. You will find artists from every continent, as there will be more than 100 exhibitors from Europe, around 40 from America, 7 from Africa, and more than ten from Asia and Oceania. Basically, this international art fair transforms Paris into a desirable place for photography lovers.

The display area is split into three sectors, with the main place, Curiosa, dedicated to arising artists and their publishers. Paris Photo 2022 will feature 48 beginners and first-time participants. Plus, it is the fair's 25th anniversary, so the actress Rossy de Palma will be celebrated along with her portraits from Vogue.

Four years ago, women represented only 20% of the photographers exhibited at Paris Photo. However, this year, they represent 31% which is slightly better than before. Every gallery is unrestrained to show whatever it likes. But the visibility of women is super important and to that, the Elles x Paris Photo zone launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture has contributed to enhancing representation. In 2022, Federica Chiocchetti - who is an expert in photography and literature - was asked to choose 100 works by women artists.

If you're looking for some hidden gems and impressive works of art, we have some ideas so keep reading the article. This year’s show contains a seldom displayed selection of vintage photographs of the attack on Pearl Harbor and also prints of the nuclear trials conducted in the Nevada desert by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Don't miss the Daniel Blau gallery exhibition which is known for images of historical events such as war and space conquest. This gallery from Munich is one of the few to offer original nineteenth-century photographs, from Édouard Baldus to Gustave Le Gray or Émile Zola.

Besides the rare nineteenth-century pictures, the fair offers a multitude of images from the 1920s to 1970s. For example, Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the most symbolic photographers of this period, is present in several stalls at the fair, like the Augusta Edwards Fine Art London, alongside other photographers from the Magnum Photos agency. At the Galerie Françoise Paviot (Paris), you can catch Vintage Works (Chalfont), HCB, Charles Nègre, Man Ray, and Brassaï among other famous photographers.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Photographe, which was first published in 1979 is now being released again. The publisher also gets out Les Anglais / The English, which faces Bresson's black-and-white photographs, which take up half of the book, and Martin Parr’s images from his Last Resort project. The book is part of the exhibition Reconciliation on view at the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, until February 2023.

Fraenkel Gallery from San Francisco highlights iconic artists from the 20th century, representing all things fashion, portraits, and street photography. Besides the classics, there are contemporary artists such as Christian Marclay and his distinctive piece titled “Hot August Night” from the Body Mix series.

So, if you're looking for modern and contemporary works, The Curiosa sector is for you. There are plenty of opportunities to see photography from a different perspective, with the help of creative show designs, mixed media works, and photographs printed on uncommon materials. The 16 projects from nine countries in the 2022 selection include Pao Houa Her who combines the real and the simulacrum in an installation showing a perspective of poppies in front of an image of the same flowers. The artist evokes her childhood and her past traumas lived in Laos.

The artist William Klein, who died last year, will be commemorated at the fair by Galerie Le Réverbère. It was at this gallery that William Klein exhibited his painted contacts for the first time. The one shown here is among the 25 images selected by Rossy de Palma.

Atelier EXB will have 30 copies of a limited edition of the monograph Yes, each copy includes a print. The book follows Klein’s career and traces his work as both a painter and a photographer. Designed in close collaboration with Klein, this final monograph is accompanied by a long essay by David Campany, Curator-at-Large at the International Center of Photography, New York.

Even if you're not looking to buy prints - or can't afford one - you can get autographs and signed books. Choose from Martin Parr & Lee Shulman, Sophie Calle, Joan Foncuberta, Harry Gruyaert, Bernard Descamps, Sara Imloul, Guillaume Herbaut, Katrien De Blauwer, Anaïs Boudot, Denis Dailleux, Jane Evelyn Atwood, Jean-François Spricigo and so many others!