Take a Look at Rossy de Palma’s Choice of 25 Photographs to See at Paris Photo 2022!

Each year, Paris Photo, the leading international fair dedicated exclusively to photography, prepares special programming for its visitors. Besides its standard segments — such as Elles x Paris Photo, dedicated to women artists and their contribution to photography, and Curiosa, dedicated to emerging artists — this year, the fair welcomes Rossy de Palma as a guest of honor who curated a selection of 25 photographs. 

Rossy de Palma's Selection 

An emblematic actress of Spanish cinema, Rossy de Palma is famous for her numerous roles in Pedro Almodovar's features and appearances in theatre and opera. With Almodovar, she starred in Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown (1988) and had also appeared in his films The Law of Desire (1986), Tie me up! (1989), Kika(1993), The Flower of my Secret (1995), Broken Embraces (2009), Julietta (2016), and Madres Paralelas (2021). 

For Paris Photo's anniversary edition, de Palma has curated a selection of 25 artworks that will be on view throughout the galleries' booths. This is also a unique opportunity for visitors to learn about the actress's personal favorites. 

Passionate about photography and a muse for many photographers, de Palma's selection features works that explore nature, ecological concerns, history, identity, and gender issues. 

A Cinematic View

Rossy de Palma's career also developed internationally, and from the 1990s onward, she appeared in films by leading contemporary directors such as Robert Altman and Terry Gillian. Under the direction of Robert Altman, de Palma featured in Prêt à Porter (1994) and also had roles in Mike Figgis's The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999), Karim Dridi's Foul Play (1998), Patrice Leconte's Do Not Disturb (2014), Mehdi Charef's Graziella (2015), Amanda Sthers's Madame (2017), Terry Gillian's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), and more recently Benjamin Millepied's Carmen (2022).

Many of the photographs she selected for Paris Photo possess a cinematic quality of staged events captured in the moment of their unfolding. The intricate mise-en-scène on these photos brims with narrative possibilities, but some are difficult to decipher. 

Embracing Memories

One of the examples of this approach is FLORE's Le singe d'Émilie Pascal, 2022, presented at the Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière. The photograph features a monkey passing over a balustraded terrace surrounded by nature. The location is unknown, and the rich foliage around the terrace adds to the mysterious effect of the photo. The story lingers at the edges of the photo, allowing just one segment to appear, scarce and not enough for a complete revelation. 

Laureate 2018 of the Prix de Photographie of the Academie des Beaux-Arts - Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, FLORE realizes many of her photos during travels and is known for the timeless universe she creates with her images. Here, she continues to explore her reductive style, which charts modern destinations in black and white, reminiscent of old photographs, and which forces the memory of the past to re-enter the present.  

FLORE explains that she "embraced all the sorrows, and the sufferings...of which there are almost no traces, except those left in the memories, and I gathered them in my heart."

Face to Face

Rossy de Palma's rebellious yet endearing personality has seduced many designers in haute couture, music, photography, and the arts from around the world. She has also inspired numerous renowned photographers who are regularly presenting at the Paris Photo, such as Alberto Garcia Alix, Pierre & Gilles, Richard Avedon, Roxane Lowit, Ouka Leele, and Gorka Postigo. 

Besides films, her unique image featured in many photographs and covers. The special collaboration between Paris Photo and Rossy de Palma has been illustrated with Gorka Postigo's 2018 photograph of de Palma for the Spanish edition of Vogue. Chosen at the suggestion by de Palma, the photo the photography plays with fantasy and beauty, featuring both cinematic and graphic effects.  

Gorka Postigo studied architecture in Madrid and Milan, after which he focused more on photography and the exploration of the visual through this medium. His visually striking and beautiful images combine romanticism and weirdness, art history, and fantasy. 

The Image of Ecological Disaster

Among de Palma's selected works, Fabrice Monteiro's 8 from 2013 ( featured at camera galerie's booth) focuses on the fishing nets that are choking marine life. 

The use of monofilament or multi-mono-filament nylon nets has been prohibited by Article 30 of the Fisheries Code since 1998, yet the Commercial Code authorizes their import. The time these nets need to decompose is estimated at 500 years. Abandoned or lost upon the reefs and wrecks of the sea floor, they produce an ecological disaster. 

Monteiro decided to present these horrible residues of human exploitation of the sea as the garments of an ancient goddess who is pulling the nets out of the sea.

The Image of a Woman

Special attention in the selection is given to the representation of women. Rossy de Palma selected several works that testify to the ongoing struggle regarding the female image but also a few historical and contemporary figures that epitomize female creative force. 

The selection includes Herb Ritts's Female Torso with Veil from 1984 (Edwynn Houk Gallery), a more explicit depiction of a woman by the famous photographer, who puts the form behind a black veil, blurring its lines and hinting and multiple understandings. An anonymous model is also at the center of attention in the L'Origine du Monde - after Courbet from 1998 by Mircea Cantor (Jecza Gallery Timisoara), who uses the controversial painting as a reference for her photograph. 

Among the famous female creatives represented both behind and in front of the camera, are Amy Winehouse in Bruce Webber's photo from 2007 (Klein Gallery), Frida Kahlo, captured by the camera of Lola Alvarez Bravo (Gallery Gregory Leroy), and famous French film director Agnès Varda, who photographed Valentine Schlegel (Gallerie Nathalie Obadia).

Rossy de Palma at Paris Photo

Rossy de Palma's selection of photographs can be seen at Paris Photo 2022 at the Grand Palais Éphémère from November 10th until November 13th, 2022.

Public opening hours are from 1 pm to 8 pm, except on Sunday, November 13th, when the fair is open until 7 pm.

For more info, visit the fair's official webpage.

Featured images: Fabrice Monteiro - 8, 2013, Pigment Print, 80 x 120 cm, Fabrice Monteiro courtesy in camera galerie, Marina Abramović - Portrait with Lamb (black), 2010, Cibachrome, black and white pigment print, 160 x 160 cm, The artist and Wilde. WILDE, Maryam Firuzi - Scattered Memories of distorted future series, 2021, Photo paper, 90 x 120, Silk Road Gallery and The Artist. SILK ROAD.