The Louis Roederer Foundation is patron of the Richard Avedon exhibition at the BnF beginning on October 18th 2016
The Louis Roederer Foundation, a Major Patron of Culture and Arts, is continuing its 13 years of commitment to the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) as patron of the exhibition "La France d'Avedon - Vieux Monde, New Look" (Avedon's France : Old World, New Look) at the BnF François-Mitterrand in Paris
From October 18th 2016 to February 26th 2017, the Bibliothèque nationale de France will be
exploring the unique relationship that photographer Richard Avedon built up with France for the very
first time. Famous right from the outset for his fashion photographs, Avedon developed an outstanding
life's work which was influenced in no small part by his many French encounters. The exhibition
brings together some 200 pieces, chosen for the story they have to tell: that of the deep affection
harboured for France by one of the greatest American photographers of the latter half of the 20th
century.
The exhibition outlining Avedon's France thus follows the twists and turns of the photographer's extraordinary career through French culture: from an idealised version of Paris in Funny Face, the story rewinds to a fresh take on the Belle Époque in Diary of a Century, before fast-forwarding to 1991 in Egoïste, with the Volpi Ball in Venice - a collection of photographs illustrating the decline of the Proustian "old world".
"Turning an exhibition dedicated to Richard Avedon into a reality was a dream come true for the Louis Roederer Foundation, with its close ties to the world of Champagne. Everything about this project sparkles: the people (such as the irresistible and irreplaceable Audrey Hepburn!); beauty, not a hieratic form of beauty, but a reinvented beauty, so close that we can almost touch it; fashion, but a smooth, flowing, endearing form of fashion, far-removed from those stick-thin models looking down at us from the catwalk; and throughout it all there is the sharp eye of Avedon whose Epicureanism brings his technical expertise to life.
This exhibition depicting a glorious yet bygone France, which will run at the BnF for five months, pays tribute to the most "fertile" of friendships, that of Richard Avedon for an incredible aesthete - Nicole Wisniak, Director of Egoïste magazine. We share this deep admiration for Wisniak. It is also a tribute to Bruno Racine, who sought to retrace, in Tolbiac, the incredible journey of the tireless promoter of Lartigue. We would also like to express our delight that the "Vieux Monde, New Look" exhibition is curated by Robert M. Rubin, a dear friend and a very cultivated patron, as well as by Marianne Le Galliard, who was awarded the Louis Roederer research grant for her outstanding work on the Harper's Bazaar photography archives."
Michel Janneau, General Secretary of the Louis Roederer Foundation
The Louis Roederer Foundation and the Bibliothèque nationale de France Champagne Louis Roederer has been working in partnership with the BnF in support of photography since 2003. The Foundation's work has since grown to include assisting the national library in its invitations to leading contemporary artists, performers and videographers, etc. These are invited to come and create their own unique interpretations of the exhibition spaces and the collections. Sophie Calle was given free rein for the first exhibition, following the Labrouste reading room's closure to the public, and Louis Roederer has been instrumental in helping to introduce the most contemporary works of art into this shrine to cultural heritage. This was followed by Richard Prince's exhibition in 2010, a true celebration of counterculture, and Matthew Barney in 2012 who transformed the exhibition area into a "sublimation chamber" in which the meaning of the works slowly crystallised. In 2015 the Foundation supported the "L'Alchimie des Livres" (Alchemy of Books) exhibition by Anselm Kiefer.
Since 2006, Louis Roederer has been sponsoring scientific research into photography by way of the annual Louis Roederer research grant for photography (worth 10,000 euros), which is awarded each year in association with the BnF. www.louis-roederer.com/fr/foundation
The exhibition outlining Avedon's France thus follows the twists and turns of the photographer's extraordinary career through French culture: from an idealised version of Paris in Funny Face, the story rewinds to a fresh take on the Belle Époque in Diary of a Century, before fast-forwarding to 1991 in Egoïste, with the Volpi Ball in Venice - a collection of photographs illustrating the decline of the Proustian "old world".
"Turning an exhibition dedicated to Richard Avedon into a reality was a dream come true for the Louis Roederer Foundation, with its close ties to the world of Champagne. Everything about this project sparkles: the people (such as the irresistible and irreplaceable Audrey Hepburn!); beauty, not a hieratic form of beauty, but a reinvented beauty, so close that we can almost touch it; fashion, but a smooth, flowing, endearing form of fashion, far-removed from those stick-thin models looking down at us from the catwalk; and throughout it all there is the sharp eye of Avedon whose Epicureanism brings his technical expertise to life.
This exhibition depicting a glorious yet bygone France, which will run at the BnF for five months, pays tribute to the most "fertile" of friendships, that of Richard Avedon for an incredible aesthete - Nicole Wisniak, Director of Egoïste magazine. We share this deep admiration for Wisniak. It is also a tribute to Bruno Racine, who sought to retrace, in Tolbiac, the incredible journey of the tireless promoter of Lartigue. We would also like to express our delight that the "Vieux Monde, New Look" exhibition is curated by Robert M. Rubin, a dear friend and a very cultivated patron, as well as by Marianne Le Galliard, who was awarded the Louis Roederer research grant for her outstanding work on the Harper's Bazaar photography archives."
Michel Janneau, General Secretary of the Louis Roederer Foundation
The Louis Roederer Foundation
The Louis Roederer Foundation was founded in 2011 with the purpose of creating a permanent and well-structured sponsorship programme. It builds on the policy that Louis Roederer has implemented since 2003 and opens it up to new projects, while continuing to support artistic creativity and make it accessible to the public. With each artist and each event, the Foundation Louis Roederer discovers a new example of the "quest for perfection", authentic and truly wonderful in its demand for creativity.The Louis Roederer Foundation and the Bibliothèque nationale de France Champagne Louis Roederer has been working in partnership with the BnF in support of photography since 2003. The Foundation's work has since grown to include assisting the national library in its invitations to leading contemporary artists, performers and videographers, etc. These are invited to come and create their own unique interpretations of the exhibition spaces and the collections. Sophie Calle was given free rein for the first exhibition, following the Labrouste reading room's closure to the public, and Louis Roederer has been instrumental in helping to introduce the most contemporary works of art into this shrine to cultural heritage. This was followed by Richard Prince's exhibition in 2010, a true celebration of counterculture, and Matthew Barney in 2012 who transformed the exhibition area into a "sublimation chamber" in which the meaning of the works slowly crystallised. In 2015 the Foundation supported the "L'Alchimie des Livres" (Alchemy of Books) exhibition by Anselm Kiefer.
Since 2006, Louis Roederer has been sponsoring scientific research into photography by way of the annual Louis Roederer research grant for photography (worth 10,000 euros), which is awarded each year in association with the BnF. www.louis-roederer.com/fr/foundation