NEW YORK, NY.- Pace/MacGill Gallery is presenting A Tribute to Robert Delpire, an exhibition celebrating the life and work of the prolific French publisher, art director, film producer, and curator. A pivotal figure in the history of photography, Delpire has played an essential role in the promotion and distribution of the medium for more than 60 years. The featured photographs by Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Josef Koudelka, Duane Michals, and Paolo Roversi showcase just a small selection of the iconic image-makers Delpire has championed throughout his career. The exhibition is on view May 10 through June 16, 2012 and is presented in collaboration with Delpire & Co. at Aperture Foundation, The Gallery at Hermès, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, La Maison Française, New York University, and Sarah Moon at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
For over half a century, Delpire has been profoundly instrumental in the careers of some of photography's now most noted practitioners, supporting their work early on through his projects and publications. In 1958, he published Robert Frank's ground-breaking monograph, Les Americains, at a time when securing an American publisher for Frank’s revolutionary work proved difficult. This seminal suite of 83 photographs taken during Frank's 1955-56 cross-country road trip has become a milestone in the medium's history with its radical depiction of American life, and The Americans is widely celebrated as one the most important photography books of the 20th century. The exhibited photographs, including Political rally - Chicago, 1956 and U.S. 91 Leaving Blackfoot, Idaho, 1956, represent some the most recognized images from the series.
Among the other masters with whom Delpire has collaborated is the Czech photographer Josef Koudelka. In 1988, Delpire prepared and designed Exiles, the successor to Koudelka’s formative 1975 monograph on European roaming communities, Gypsies (also published by Delpire). A powerful document of the spiritual and physical state of exile, the publication and its mysteriously evocative, isolating images have become intrinsic to the understanding of Koudelka’s oeuvre. A selection of gelatin silver prints from this body of work are on view.
In 1982, Delpire was appointed head of France's Centre national de la Photographie (CNP), where he began publishing Photo Poche. The first portable and affordable paperback photography series, Photo Poche sought to introduce the medium to a wider public and ultimately became the best-selling photography publication in the world. From Lee Friedlander’s early images of television screens in motel rooms and homes across 1960s America to Duane Michals's classic black and white pictures with handwritten text to Paolo Roversi's fashion photographs of friend and model Guinevere, each volume presents signature works by the selected artist.
One of the world's leading photography galleries, Pace/MacGill has been dedicated to advancing fine art photography for almost 30 years. Known for discovering artists, representing masters, and placing important collections and archives into major public institutions, Pace/MacGill has presented some 200 exhibitions and published numerous catalogues on modern and contemporary photography. Founded in 1983 by Peter MacGill, in collaboration with Arne Glimcher of The Pace Gallery and Richard Solomon of Pace Editions, Pace/MacGill is located at 32 East 57th Street in New York City.
