THE EXHIBITION
From 2 May to 18 May, the gallery will be hosting an exhibition entitled ‘Estampes photographiques’ by Maxime Simon.
Photographer
Maxime Simon presents an exhibition of silver slide images transferred onto gold leaf. Each print is produced in editions of 3, 5 or 8 copies only.
His delicate, small-format works are like snapshots of a poetic, sensitive world with an enchanting aura that invites the viewer to contemplate.
Maxime Simon’s photography is constructed in response to the emotional tensions experienced in the constant renewal of landscapes, tasting the light that reveals the being of things.
It is important to him not to ‘force’ the image: in a state of trusting abandonment, a sense of wonder can emerge that cannot be decided. Then he puts his eye to it, organises the components of the harmony I want to share, and translates the light into the particular technique he has chosen.
Sometimes he likes to include a character who can provoke thought about our relationship to space and our presence in the world, an identification that encourages us to project ourselves into the scene.
The process used allows the light to play with the images, which are both illuminated and backlit. By moving around, we can enter into an intimate relationship, already suggested by the format, with each image.
The ‘Estampes photographiques’ exhibition will run from Thursday 2 May to Saturday 18 May.
You are all invited to come and talk to the artist at the vernissage on Thursday 2 May 2024 from 6pm at the Galerie-ateliers L’Alcôve, 15 rue René-Leynaud, 69001 Lyon.
Using a technique of instant image manipulation known as ‘Polaroid peeling’, learn how to create your own portrait on gold leaf in 2 hours with photographer Maxime Simon. You’ll leave with an original work of art of your own!
Cost: €35 per person.
Workshop dates :
Saturday 4 May 2024, 2pm to 4.30pm.
Saturday 11 May 2024, 2pm to 4.30pm.
Registration via the Galerie-Ateliers L’Alcôve:
09 73 61 90 88
contact@alcove-lyon.com
The artist
Born in Lyon in 1973, Maxime Simon lives and works in Chassieu (Rhône). Self-taught and influenced by a line of painters and draughtsmen from the 18th century to the present day, Maxime Simon has been photographing since the age of 21.
Fascinated by the process in which the artist’s intention dialogues with his medium in a mutual game of interpretation, and educates himself in this exchange, he has never ceased to want to understand and translate the images that impose themselves on his gaze.
His world and artistic references
His practice, initially centred on black and white film, was turned upside down in 2007 by the discovery of the vast creative potential of instant-development film. This enabled him to adopt a more intuitive approach and concentrate on composition, while at the same time allowing him to be seduced by the randomness of instant film and its unique rendering.
His work takes several directions: in addition to photography itself, he makes his own several processes for physically manipulating instant prints. These allow him to intervene in a variety of ways to alter the meaning and aesthetic content of his images.
Maxime presented his Estampes Photographiques (transfers on gold leaf) at the Rencontres Photographiques de Chabeuil in 2022.