Valérie Jouve: Bodies, Resisting
Jeu de Paume presents an exhibition by Valérie Jouve titled Bodies, Resisting.
The exhibition will feature a range of photographic works and films centring on the chemistry between bodies, space, humanity and the urban landscape, a focus that the artist has become specifically known for.
Jouve studied anthropology before enrolling in photographic studies. Today, as a photographer and filmmaker she is part of a generation of French artists that have stepped away from the humanist tradition without entirely rejecting its fundamental concerns.
Her works draw equally on contemporary art and creative documentary as it does on anthropology and sociology. They capture the interplay between people in motion and buildings, exploring physical presence in cities as well as ways of living in space. As such, the classic categories of subjects and landscapes are combined in a way that presents well-choreographed scenes in the intensity of urban situations.
The ambiguity and intentional indeterminacy of Jouve’s photographic compositions are highlighted by her use of the designation Untitled. These open-ended image collections are added to by the artist over time. Each is identified by a generic subtitle in parentheses such as Characters, Facades, Passer-by, The Street, Situations, etc.
“I’m trying to conjure up a kind of intensity I feel in living things… I’m working on inhabiting a space and I hope viewers come to experience that space through the images,” Jouve said.
Bodies, Resisting will be on display from Tuesday 2 June – Sunday 27 September 2015 at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, France.
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