Rauzier Hyperphotos 2017

BACK COVER Jean-François Rauzier Hyperphotos FRONT COVER

JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAUZIER is represented exclusively in the JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAUZIERUSA, UK and Middle East by Waterhouse & Dodd Hyperphotos 2012 - 2017All works in the catalogue may be viewed atwww.waterhousedodd.com/exhibitions/rauzier WATERHOUSE & DODDand are available for sale on receipt of this catalogue. 15 East 76th StreetFront Cover: Babel Kircher, New York, 2015 (Catalogue #12) New York, NY 10021 +1 212 717 9100 [email protected] 47 Albemarle Street London, W1S 4JW +44 (0) 20 7734 7800 [email protected] www.waterhousedodd.com

Jean-François Rauzier FOREWORD This catalogue contains a representative selection of Jean-François Rauzier’s recent oeuvre. I am delighted to introduce our fourth exhibition of Jean-François Rauzier’s ‘Hyperphotos’. Since Many of these works will be on view at forthcoming exhibitions in New York and Miami.We our last major show of his work in New York in 2010, Rauzier’s career and reputation have grown usually have a few examples hanging at our private gallery at 15 East 76th Street, NY. on a global scale. In the last two years the artist has had major exhibitions in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Please contact the gallery for up to date information. Istanbul and Paris. And Waterhouse & Dodd has introduced his work to appreciative audiences All works for sale by the artist may be viewed on our dedicated website: in New York, Miami, Los Angeles,The Hamptons, Palm Beach, Maastricht, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and www.hyperphotos.com Hong Kong. All titles are produced in just one edition of 8. Buyers are issued a certificate from the artist specifying the edition number. The size noted in this catalogue for each work is the size usually I have written before about how the breadth of Rauzier’s vision, the variety of his inspirations, the printed, although size variations may be possible within the edition of 8. richness of his imagination and the myriad of details in every work make it impossible to do justice The first 6 of any edition are priced at the standard rate, with the 7th and 8th to sell being to his work in a small printed catalogue. All these factors can only be fully appreciated when they subject to a 10% and 15% surcharge respectively. are printed full scale and one stands in front of them. Jean-François Rauzier’s inspiration stems All works in the exhibition are C-Type prints, Diasec mounted on aluminum. from multiple cultural references that offer a reflection on reality, the place of man in the city, and questions the viewer’s perception of the world. We are pleased to present here Rauzier’s best work from the last four years, with subjects in USA, France, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Cuba and Turkey.We recently commissioned Rauzier to complete a series on Cuba, and the results of his trip are presented here for the first time. We are planning various shows for Rauzier in the next few months in New York and Miami.We look forward to welcoming you at one of our exhibitions or showing you a small selection at our Upper East Side private gallery. Ray Waterhouse September 2017

JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAUZIER IN CONVERSATION WITH RAY WATERHOUSE Many people, when first introduced to your work, see it as(updated version of the original 2011 conversation) being Surrealist. Do the Surrealists inspire you, and do you set out to produce Surrealist imagery?I have done many exhibitions and fairs with your Hyperphotos throughout the world since we started showing yourwork in 2009. The first response of most people when they see a number of your works together for the first time I called my work ‘Hyperphoto’ in reference to the Hyper-is ‘Wow!’ And the second, after looking for a minute or so in wonderment, is ‘How does he do it?’ I know you take realistic painters. Their work is very close to the Surrealists;hundreds, even thousands of images for each work. Can you please give us a short explanation of how you start to as Lacan said,‘Super-realists!’ Of course, I think that whencompose your works, and also how you merge the images? you let your imagination free, you are a Surrealist, but I am influenced by everything I see: comic strips, mangas, movies,In the past, when I decided to shoot a location, I would take my camera mounted on a special tripod that has literature, legends and so on.small electric motors to aid rotation and a smooth transition through shots. Now most of the time I don’t needa tripod because I have had so much practice with hand held cameras. I shoot every point of view I can, without Your scenes often have very opulent interiors, such as Muséenecessarily knowing what I will end up using each image for. I like to shoot every room I choose from 2 or 3 d’Orsay.Why are you so drawn to rich and lavish interiors ofangles. For each point of view, I shoot hundreds of pictures with a telephoto lens to have the maximum detail the past when so much of your practise, and human interest inand resolution, and to record every square cm of the space. the work, is so 21st century?Then on my computer, I stitch all of those thousands of pictures together. In the beginning, I stitched all the The 21st century is only the century after the 20th, afterimages using Photoshop and it took weeks or months. Now I use stitching software, which speeds up the the 19th, etc... All of what we do or dream is built upon theprocess immeasurably, but I always carefully compose the image myself, rather than letting the computer form foundation laid by our predecessors. My life and work areany part of the composition automatically. To avoid mechanical or optical distortions (panoramic curves or wide intrinsically linked; that’s very important for me, but I knowangle effects), I just stitch pieces of the scenes in smaller segments, then manually stitch and arrange the blocks that there are hundreds of artists working like that andinto the final composition. there were thousands who worked like that before, many of whom have been forgotten. A few of these artists left tracks and I am so amazed by the heritage they left usOnce I have created these building blocks of images, I set about creating the final image. This is the most that I feel the need to pay tribute to them. I’m very conscious that without the past, there is no present and noexciting and fulfilling step for me, it is like a game, and is all over too shortly. When I compose one of the future. In my work, I try to see everything, closer and wider, all around; to explore all the aspects of the space I am shooting, but also travel in time; to see at the same moment in the past and the future. complex scenes, I still have a lot of work to do to finalise the image, including adding details and Is there a photographer from the past who has particularly influenced or inspired you? correcting images. One of the final tasks is to work on the light. I shoot many different points A lot! But the first names who come to mind are filmmakers like Kubrick, Eisenstein,Tarkovsky, Pasolini, Fellini, of view, so after re-constructing a scene the light and then painters like Hopper, Balthus, Hockney, Della Francesca, Bruegel, and Piranesi. I am also strongly needs to be standardized from one angle. Because influenced by literature. I am drawn to photographers who have a strong personal universe like Sarah Moon, of this I prefer to shoot in a very soft light, without Bernard Plossu, Saudek, Crewdson, there are so many. highlights and shadows, and I create these effects artificially afterwards. How have your ‘Hyperphotos’ developed over the years and what does the future hold for the Technique? During these final steps, I have a lot of time to let There have been considerable changes to the software available to me to help create the images. But also the my imagination run free and create a story. So power of computers has increased hugely: 5 years ago it took 1 hour to save a 50 GB file. Now it’s only a few then I add little details. Sometimes there are hun- minutes. In the beginning, I tried to push the limits of technology, trying to create the largest pictures possible, dreds of details so it can be a very long process. but now it’s not so much of a concern. I prefer to concentrate my efforts on the story I will tell and the feeling For example, in Real Gabinete (Catalogue #11) in the image, rather than simply exploiting technology to create spectacular images. Now technology has caught I superimposed the original portraits of famous up with my vision, I shall concentrate my efforts on the future and creating new and more fantastic dreamscapes. Portuguese writers onto images of my own body Now I work on animated images, video animated still images, mapping with my images on walls, 3D, looking for which copied their poses. VR, etc...

Are your photo sessions carefully planned for each composition, or do you carry a camera with you at all time to capture I know you are very excited about the new Cuba series, some of which are in this exhibition. I know many of ouropportunistic shots? clients will love to see them. Can you describe to me what you found most fascinating there?Both! I am lucky now in that I am able to secure official appointments to shoot public places like the Château de Cuba has a reputation all around the world - but I was totally amazed! I expected to see old and dilapidatedVersailles or the Vatican Library, but I need so many details for my work, that everywhere I go, I shoot EVERY- Spanish-style houses. But I didn’t realize before that Cuba is a dream for architects, an outdoor museum withTHING. Trees, doors, birds, cats, garbage, buttons, walls, windows.... I have periods when I obsessively collect the best of styles from 17th through 19th centuries, 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, Constructivism and a few but verycertain images, then I keep them all in a huge photo library so for each new work I can draw upon these ‘stock’ creative contemporary! Most of visitors are looking at the vintage cars, but it’s the same for buildings.images if I need them. In France we have interesting architecture but after WWII in the 40s, 50s and 60s most of the time theNow, most of the time I am invited to cities or countries to photograph over a short period of time. It is very buildings were ugly and spoiling the view. In Cuba, everything is a peace of art. A friend of mine who is anwell organized with a driver, guide and my wife as assistant - but it is very very intense. For example, when architect explained to me that as holiday destination, as Cuba was before the Revolution, there were less urbanWaterhouse & Dodd commissioned me to travel to Cuba for a week I shot 70,000 photos in 7 days and walked constraints and architects were free and enthusiastic. Before I arrived in Cuba, I would see in books beautifulmany hundreds of kilometers! images of Spanish villas, but never examples of houses from the 20th century. And since everything was frozen in time after the Revolution, nothing has changed, even the furniture! On the balconies you can see many chairsAre you aware of the phrase Mise-en-scène in relation to film making - in essence the creation of a scene in which a and tables that are considered antiques now... All a bit worn, but standing. Like the Cuban people...narrative can unfold - and is it something you are conscious of doing in your photography? In Cuba, I made something unusual for me: After shooting thousands of buildings to create my Cuba VedutaYes the mise-en-scène is conscious, and it’s the first thing I think about: what story will I tell? I’m not satisfied with (Catalogue #7), I normally clean and cut out each building, but this time I also made an image where I selectedjust creating a beautiful picture.There are so many beautiful scenes in the world. Why bother just reproducing 365 buildings and showed them isolated with a sky, a road, and sometimes cars or people (Cuba, Catalogue #8).them? What I think is interesting is the story we tell, to trap the spectator in our universe. I loved this result and want to do a book on the lessons the architecture of Cuba can teach us.What is unconscious and mysterious for me is how a place or scene informs the story. The story is never You’ve been traveling a lot. Other than Cuba which places in the last few years have been the richest sources for you?predetermined. I build the narrative after shooting, and it is entirely inspired by the place. Walls and furniturehave so many things to tell us. They have heard so many stories and conversations. What is amazing is that Everywhere is a source of inspiration. What first comes to mind is my recent visits to Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Sal-when people who know the place I photographed well will say to me: “your story is exactly the feeling I have of vador, São Paolo, Brasilia - They are very different cities which inspired unique images and new experimentations.this place.” That is an unconscious connection. But I can’t forget Istanbul, Barcelona, Amsterdam,Venice, Rome, Dali in China, and Angkor. Also, of course, New York, Miami, and Chicago have important lessons of architecture for me as well.You make great use of multiple perspective points in your compositions that often create a mazelike environment.What is it about mazes that so interests you? When we first met, 8 years ago, your style and subject-matter were mainly French.As you have traveled so widely for your work since then, and captured a richer and much larger library of imagery - both in your mind and yourI like to catch the spectator in my universe (I am also a spectator). To be really caught, you must be kept inside, computer’s memory - how much do you find your style and ideas adapting to the local imagery?to get lost within the image. I don’t want you escape out of my image by the side. The only exit is inside theimage, where it goes to infinity. I like the viewer to find more details in the works as their eyes wander through Yes, in Brazil I had very intensive trips to 4 cities in 2 years; Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Salvador and São Paolo. Inthe maze. During exhibitions I love to see people shooting many photos with their iPhones to capture of details Rio I made quite classical images for me: a library, a veduta and a museum. In Brasilia I was completely inspiredin my hyperphotos as they would do if the scene were in reality. by modernism and built images informed by the artworks of Fernand Leger. In Salvador I created an image rooted in Afro-Brazilian culture of “Orichas.” In São Paulo I made many works with street art. In terms of my other cities I have visited I am always inspired by the visual sensation of the location. For example, in Astana or Abu Dhabi, I make clean and futuristic images; in Istanbul or Barcelona, busy and baroque images.

1The Met, 2014Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Depicting fantastical versions of museums and libraries is central to Rauzier’s art and the subject of some of his greatest works. When Rauzier visitedThe Met in 2013, he did so as a regular visitor; he had no intention of taking images, let alone creating a work based on the museum’s treasures. He was surprised he was allowed to use this camera which he was only carrying to shoot other aspects of NewYork that day. When back in Paris the following year he used the images he had taken to create one of the best works of his career. His composition depicts an almost infinite museum, with layer upon layer of rooms of paintings, sculpture, armor and objects d’art.

2Musée d’Orsay,2016Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Rauzier uses the stunning architecture of the old railway station, the Gare d’Orsay, which now houses the French national museum of 19th century and early Modern art, the Musée d’Orsay.The centerpiece of the composition is the famous original station clock, with the barrel-vaulted centre ceiling – which he has re-created in triplicate - as the backdrop. In this fantasy museum, Rauzier has hung the most famous works from the museum as wel as his personal favorites, and has added some of the great artists along the balustrade.

3Chambord, 2016Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm The magnificent 16th century Château of Chambord, the largest and most distinctive of al the French Renaissance châteaux in the LoireValey, has been transformed by Rauzier into an immeasurable and complex city. Celebrating its construction under King Francis I, Rauzier has placed the monarch alongside other historical figures associated with Chambord, and hung Renaissance paintings and tapestries behind some of the windows.

4CubaArt Deco, 2017Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm We commissioned Rauzier to visit Cuba in 2017 and he has created a magnificent series. This work celebrates the art deco style present in many hotel lobbies in Havana, and he has deliberately used a different conception to reflect the taste. He was conscious how luxurious these hotels are and that nothing has been changed since they were built.

5Rodin - L’ Âge d’airain, 2017Diasec mounted C-Type print71 x 75 inches / 180 x 190 cm Celebrating the achievements and influence of the sculptor Auguste Rodin, this extraordinary work depicts a scene filled with sculpture and a tree rising from its midst, also composed entirely of sculpture. Rodin’s first mature work was created in 1877 and entitled ‘L’ Âge d’airian’ (or ‘Age of Bronze’) which for the artist evoked the dawn of mankind’s skill. Here, all Rodin’s great works are shown, alongside those of many sculptors influenced by him, including Brancusi, Giacometti, Picasso and De Kooning.

6Cuba, Callejon de Hamel 1, 2017Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Here Rauzier portrays the only street in Havana covered with illicit graffiti. Until recently it was forbidden, but its emergence shows the greater scope for critical expression under President Raul Castro. This street, named after the artist who created most of the graffiti there, is very famous and has rumba every Sunday.

Cuba Detail 7 Cuba Veduta, 2017 Diasec mounted C-Type print 58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm One of Rauzier’s most iconic subjects is the‘veduta’ of a city, where he piles building on top of building to create a kaleidoscopic and almost infinite city. The term veduta is Italian for‘view’, and in Renaissance paintings was used to describe a detailed large scale depiction of a city. Here Rauzier displays the glorious combination of architectural styles in Havana, with sculpture and vintage cars along the water’s edge.

8Cuba, 2017Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Rauzier here presents a new style of Hyperphoto, with interlocking layers of imagery, again glorifying the history, culture and the many rich and colorful flavors of the country.

9Falling Livres, 2015Diasec mounted C-Type print71 x 74 inches / 180 x 190 cm Displaying his legendary wit, Rauzier here ironically creates a tree from books and manuscripts. He has included many of the books he has shot around the world in great libraries and public collections, with rare works from Piranesi, Diderot, D’Alembert, Mozart, Bach and Egyptian books of the dead. There are very rare bibles, incunabula and music scores. He has grown the tree in a derelict building, the old Rio Automobile Club.

10Brasilia, 2016Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm This work includes parts of the most famous buildings in the city of Brasilia. They are all Niemeyer buildings and resonated with Rauzier as the stylized modernist period is similar to some of the buildings he visited in the south of France with his father when he was a child. This work is a testimony to Brasilia and also Fernand Léger who inspired many Brazilian artists.

11Real Gabinete, 2015Diasec mounted C-Type print78 x 44.5 inches / 198 x 113 cm Rauzier has recreated a version of the famous library in Rio de Janiero, created in 1837, which houses more than 350,000 books. Real Gabinete roughly translates to ‘royal reading room’. He has added the heads of many famous Portuguese writers, superimposed onto his own body.

12Babel Kircher, New York, 2015Diasec mounted C-Type print63 x 64 inches / 160 x 163 cm The theme of the Tower of Babel has been one of the most inspirational in the history of art. The book of Genesis describes how the Babylonians, who all spoke one language, built a very tall structure to celebrate their great nation and to reach to the heavens. Then they could be like God and would not need Him. God didn’t like their arrogance and made them speak different languages, causing confusion and the failure of the project. In the title Rauzier acknowledges the teachings of Athanasius Kircher, the 17th-century German scholar, who used the Babel concept to help explain the development of language. Rauzier considers the Babel theme also to be a contemporary issue as we are constructing bigger and bigger buildings. Babel actually means ‘confusion’. Here Rauzier has used building from New York City to create a modern Babel, with the builders (bottom right) led by an image of himself as the cruel King Nimrod who initiated the tower

13Babel Breugel Paris, 2015Diasec mounted C-Type print64 x 65 inches / 163 x 165 cm This major work, inspired directly by Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting, is a modern photographic interpretation of the theme. He has used elements from modern day Paris to realise the discussions of Athanasius Kircher, who published a book ‘Turris Babel’ in 1679 in which he disputed parts of the Bible’s version but used the story to discuss the history of language.Amongst the learned cardinals and the builders stands Rauzier himself as King Nimrod.

14 Paris Babel, 2016 Diasec mounted C-Type print 78 x 44.5 inches / 198 x 113 cm This is a more whimsical approach to the Babel theme, where Rauzier piles Parisian buildings on top of each other in a melange of old and new. The EiffelTower stands proudly alone.Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Tower of Babel, oil on panel, c. 1563. Kunsthistorisches Museum,Vienna

Ex-exhibitionOppositeHarem 3, 2012Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cmRightTapis Papillons, 2017Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cmBelowRoute de la Soie Tapis Ladas, 2016Diasec mounted C-Type print58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Following Pages: Top Left Top Right Manhattan Farms, 2013 Lower East Side Veduta, 2014 Diasec mounted C-Type print Diasec mounted C-Type print 58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm 58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm Bottom Left Bottom Right Made in New York, 2013 Upper West Side Veduta, 2014 Diasec mounted C-Type print Diasec mounted C-Type print 58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm 58 x 98 inches / 150 x 250 cm



JEAN-FRANÇOIS RAUZIER SELECT INTERNATIONAL ART FAIRSFrench, Born 1952 NORTH AMERICAEducation and early professional career Los Angeles - LA Art Show - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2010, 2012, 2013 Miami - Art Wynwood - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2015 - 2017Scientific studies, followed by a degree at the French Miami - Art Miami - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2010 - 2016 Miami - PULSE Miami - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2014, 2015Photographic School, Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière Miami - Scope Miami - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2008, 2010, 2012 New York - Art Miami NY - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2015, 20161970 - 2000 Advertising Photographer New York - PULSE New York - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2013 New York - Scope NY - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2012, 2013EXHIBITIONS - INSTALLATIONS (2011-2017) Palm Beach - Art Palm Beach – Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2011, 2013, 2016, 20172017 Blacksbury - Artists and architecture - Moss Arts Center / Virginia Tech Toronto - Art Toronto - Villa del Arte gallery // 2016 Astana - Astana - Palace of Peace and Reconciliation2016 Salvador - Hiperfoto Salvador - MAM Salvador de Bahia LATIN AMERICA Paris - Grand voyageur - Gare d’Austerlitz Bogota - Art Bo. – Villa del Arte gallery Paris - Heydar Aliyev Foundation - Place Joffre Cannes - Heydar Aliyev Foundation - Palais des Festivals ASIA Hong Kong - Fine Art Asia - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2011 Brasilia - Hiperfoto Brasilia - Museu Nacional Jakarta - Bazaar Art Jakarta // 2016 Istanbul - Solo show - Nev gallery Jakarta - Art Stage Jakarta // 20162015 Paris - City Never Sleeps – Gare d’Austerlitz New Delhi - Art India - Villa del Arte gallery // 2013, 2015, 2017 Lille - Détroit – Lille 3000 / Gare Saint-Sauveur Singapore - Art stage fair - Villa del Arte gallery // 2013, 2016, 2017 La Loupe - Festival Photo à la Loupe – Château de La Loupe Thonon-les-Bains - Etre étonné, c’est un bonheur! - Chapelle de la visitation Tourcoing - Contes de Détroit – Lille 3000 / La Maison Folie Rio - Hiperfoto Rio - Museu de historia nacional EUROPE China - Looking for a dream - Dali International photography festival Paris - Paris Music club – La Gaité lyrique Basel - Scope Basel - Galerie Bailly contemporain // 2010, 2013 New York - Solo show – Waterhouse & Dodd gallery Brussels - Fotofever - Galerie Paris-Beijing // 2012 Amsterdam - Solo show - Villa del arte gallery London - Olympia Fair - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2010 2014 Paris - Collaborative project - Happening with the US rapper Beat Assailant – La Gaieté Lyrique Maastricht - TEFAF - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2010, 2011, 2014 Bangkok - Thaillywood Foundation - Special guest Paris - Art Paris - Galerie Paris-Beijing // 2012, 2013 Barcelona - Solo show - Villa del Arte gallery Paris - Pavillon des arts et du design – Galerie Bailly contemporain // 2010, 2011 Toulon - PhotoMed - Mediterranean Festival Photography Rheinstetten - Art Karlsruhe // 2016 New York - Solo show - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery Zurich - Kunst Zürich - Villa del Arte gallery // 20152013 Toulon - Arches – Var Council Hotel of Arts Bordeaux - Rêves de Venise - Cultural Institute Bernard Magrez NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST Brussels - Babel – Botanical cultural institute Dinard - Arches – Art and festival palace Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi Art - Waterhouse & Dodd gallery // 2009, 2010 Brussels - Solo show - Paris-Beijing gallery Istanbul - Contemporary Istanbul - Villa del Arte gallery // 2011, 2013, 2015, 20162012 Versailles - Hyper-Versailles - Lambinet Museum Lille - Babel - The Museum of Fine Arts PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Geneva - Solo show - Charly Bailly gallery Beijing - Solo show – Paris-Beijing gallery 2008 - 20162011 Barcelona - Voyages Extraordinaires – Musée Diocésain City of Lille, City of Paris, City of Versailles, Musée des années 30 – Boulogne – Billancourt, Bernard Magrez cultural institute, Federal Reserve Board, Fed - Washington, National Library of the Republic of Kazhakstan - Astana, Louis Vuitton - Commission, Royal Monceau - Raffle Collection - Commission, Emerige collection – Commission, Chevro- let collection – Commission, Perrier / Nestlé Waters collection - Commission, Cognac –Martell collection – Com- mission, Azulis collection– Commission, Carlyle group collection – Commission

Catalogue written and published by Waterhouse & Dodd © 2017Photographs © Jean-François RauzierDesigned by Allison WucherAll rights reservedNo part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any media, or transmittedby any means, without the prior written consent of the publisherPrinted by xxxx