I’m delighted to present artworks by renowned fashion photographer Paolo Roversi (b.1947, Ravenna). Working directly with the studio in Paris, we selected images from 1988 to 2017 including shots for Vogue, Dior and Comme des Garçons, with many exhibited at international museums and art fairs.
Whether made with his trademark Deardorff 8x10 camera and Polaroid film or as carbon prints, Roversi's photographs eloquently bridge the spheres of commercial photography and fine art. His timeless work, admired for its ethereal lighting and shadows, fuses delicacy and strength.
Roversi says: “You don’t take a picture, you give a picture […] the picture is always inside of you”.
If the artworks are of interest, pleaseget in touch.
Header image: Roos, Paris (Vogue), 2017
context
Paolo Roversi moved to Paris in 1973 and began forging his reputation in the ‘80s, developing a style that was classic yet original. His aesthetic evolved from a distinctive approach: using a 20x25 format Polaroid alongside references drawing on Roman and Byzantine art, a nod to his youth in Ravenna.
The recognisable soft focus in Roversi’s photographs recalls the origins of fashion photography, whilst embracing movement, abandon and the unexpected. Model, dress, form and background fuse. Elements in the composition radiate light, evoking a realm beyond time and place. In his images we see soul, and experience myth.
Kirsten as Juliet, London (Romeo Gigli), 1988
“Mystery, secrets and
accidents are the main ingredients of my work” - Paolo Roversi
Images left to right: Naomi, Paris, 1996 | Alexandra, Tokyo (Comme des Garçons), 2016 | Stella, Paris (Vogue Italia), 2011 | Audrey, Paris (Comme des Garçons), 1996
artwork details
All photographs sourced directly from Paolo Roversi’s studio.
The images are available in varying sizes and via different techniques from textured Carbon prints* to high-gloss chromogenic prints, silver gelatin, platinum and original unique Polaroids.
Prices range from $10,000 to $30,000.
*Carbon printing is a complex traditional process requiring special conditions, paper and expertise. With only 2 studios in the world still making them, Roversi describes his printer in Seattle as “a magician”.
Print sizes include (with variations):
25 x 30 cm / 45 x 55 cm / 65 x 75 cm / 95 x 115 cm
All editions of 17 + 5 Artist Proofs
Please contact me for further info on prints and prices for specific works.
“Photography reveals especially what isn’t there
- it shows the invisible”
- Paolo Roversi
recognition
Roversi’s work has been exhibited internationally, including: Museo d'Arte della città di Ravenna, Italy’ (2021); Dallas Contemporary, Texas (2020); Shanghai Centre of Photography (2020) ; C/O Berlin (2016); ICP, New York (2009)
His work is held in the collections of: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Portrait Gallery, London; Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Roversi was invited to produce the prestigious Pirelli Calendar in 2020,
and has published more than 10 books.
He has led advertising campaigns for: Cerruti, Comme des Garçons, Christian Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent and Valentino. And has been published in: Harper’s Bazaar, I-D, Interview, Marie-Claire, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, W, and more.
Roos, Jardin baroque coat dress (Dior), 2017
Roversi works almost exclusively in his studio, ‘Studio Luce’, in Paris. The raw nature of the space - a wooden floor and grey curtain - contrasts markedly with his sophisticated aesthetic. He describes: "The studio is a small stage where anything can happen […] It is stunning how naturally the real, surreal and fantastic all mesh here; image and imagination meet and unfold.”
Studio Luce, Paris, 2002
“I […] subtract until you have something pure left. A kind of abandon, a kind of absence. It looks like an absence, but […] the interior beauty comes out.”
