Chimera | 1 (2023) Photography by Benoit Delplace

Benoît Delplace is a French photographer and visual artist born in 1965. He is also a film director, screenwriter and art director.

From the 1990s onwards, his first works were characterized by organic painting, echoing the plastic shocks that the works of Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Georg Baselitz represented for him. This revelation stemmed from his five-year apprenticeship at the Beaux Arts, a crucial period for him in terms of open-mindedness and encounters. A large number of series followed this course, always characterized by a sensitivity to raw materials and abstraction, as well as a keen interest in different viewpoints, such as those of indigenous peoples, particularly American.

After a long period away from the company to devote herself to very different projects, 2020 was an opportunity for deep reflection. This reflection gave rise to a new desire for expression. The painting and painted volumes of the world before finally gave way to photographic research more in tune with his perception of today's world. The very notion of what we perceive as the gaze had become the new material for his work.

Series such as "Great Plains" and "Landscapes" are a direct descendant of his earlier work in abstraction. The "Chimères" series, a tribute to the French visual artist Annette Messager (to be shown shortly), and the more recent "Tiny Forest" series, which questions our perception of reality in relation to the imaginary representations that are increasingly omnipresent in the age of new technologies. These series are offered for a limited time only.

Then came a visit to the exhibition devoted to Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado (at La Villette in Paris), linked to Wim Wenders' film "The Salt of the Earth". Since then, the strength and majesty of black and white have become the ideal choice for an in-depth reflection on the nature of our gaze. Today, this new field of possibilities enables him to take his approach even further.

Numerous series are currently in preparation. "Angkor Tourists" is the first to be presented. A forthcoming series entitled "Roads" will also pay tribute to the work of Wim Wenders.

Only photographic series conceived since 2020 are presented here. They have not yet been exhibited. They are all dedicated to the memory of Pascal François, who passed away too young. He was a young visual artist. Today, he is almost unknown. Above all, he was one of his teachers at the Beaux Arts. Without the light he brought to his life, Benoît Delplace's visual work would simply never have had the chance to exist.

• Nationality: FRANCE
• Date of birth : 1965
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary French Artists