Paris Photo: looking at the world through a different lens V7

Cig Harvey, British, born 1973 Claire in the Forsythia, Rockport, ME, 2010 Chromogenic print 40 x 40 inches (101.6 x 101.6 cm) Acquired 2022 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Cig Harvey, Courtesy Robert Klein Gallery

Paris Photo: Looking at the world through a different lens

ART

As J.P. Morgan Private Bank celebrates 11 years of partnership with Paris Photo, we invite you to explore the highlights of our modern and contemporary art collection at our 2022 exhibition.

For over 10 years, an integral part of the partnership with Paris Photo has been the special exhibition featuring highlights of the collection. Each year, with different thematic focuses, we have featured iconic photographs from the 19th century to the present day.

Annabelle Azoulay

While we continue to navigate a new world of connecting to one another, both in person and virtually, art remains a vital part of our shared experience. This year our exhibition, A Different Lens, explores the world through a dynamic and distinct dimension. The collection presents powerful interpretations of the traditional genres of photography whilst representing our global business and social priorities as a firm — displaying diversity of all kinds, and a commitment to always see the world through a new lens. The iconic works by Diane Arbus, Ming Smith, Graciela Iturbide, Tina Barney, Mickalene Thomas, and Laurie Simmons are complemented by recent acquisitions by Carolle Bénitah, Yamini Nayar, Terri Loewenthal, and Cig Harvey. Not only does the exhibition of 12 compelling photographs reflect J.P. Morgan’s international platform, but it also showcases our long history of supporting emerging artists.

Annabelle Azoulay Region Head, France & Benelux, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Charlotte says “Global challenges have changed how we connect and communicate. Art remains fundamental to our shared experience and helps us see in new ways. At J.P. Morgan, we embrace the future as we learn from the past. The JPMorgan Chase Art Collection reflects enduring values of innovation and diversity.”

Head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

Reflecting our values

Ming Smith, American, born 1951 Amen Corner Sisters, New York City, NY, 1976 / 2019 Gelatin silver print 20 × 16 inches (50.8 × 40.6 cm) Acquired 2019 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection Image Courtesy Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, and San Francisco

Terri Loewenthal, American, born 1973 Psychscape 01 (Black Mountain, CA), 2020 Archival pigment print 30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Acquired 2022 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection ©Terri Loewenthal, Courtesy Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Graciela Iturbide, Mexican, born 1942 Mujer Angel, Desierto de Sonora, 1979 Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm) Acquired 1995 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Graciela Iturbide

Carolle Bénitah, French Moroccan, born 1965 Toto à 7 mois, 2018 Digital print enhanced with gold leaf 11 13/16 × 8 11/16 inches (30 × 22 cm) Acquired 2018 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Courtesy of ADAGP Paris

Tina Barney, American, born 1945 The Reception, 1985 C-print 48 × 60 inches (121.9 × 152.4 cm) Acquired 1986 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Tina Barney

Artists working in photographic media and modalities expand our perspective and bring us into dialogue with their work, vision, communities, as well as lived and imagined experiences. These photographs transport us and ground us simultaneously, inviting us to consider our own. We believe that art is a catalyst for connection, and we’re thrilled to connect, in-person and virtually, at and via Paris Photo 2022.

Charlotte Eyerman, Executive Director and Global Head of the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, explains “Since the collection’s founding in 1959, our primary commitment is to emerging, developing and under-recognised artists. We’re delighted to shed light equally on artists at different levels of exposure and renown who are both intergenerational and international.”

Paris Photo 2022 will take place from 10–13 November at the Grand Palais Ephémère in Paris, France.

This year’s lead image is Claire in the Forsythia, Rockport, ME, by Cig Harvey. Harvey’s images are visual narratives that reveal the alchemy of her present surroundings, and her vibrant use of color and natural light offer a mystical view to her family life in rural Maine. This photograph is included in her book, You Look at Me like an Emergency, a visual memoir created over 10 years that takes viewers on a vibrant journey of her life. Harvey has published five books, including her most recent, Blue Violet, in 2021. Her works form part of a number of permanent collections across the globe, including at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Library of Congress and Yale University.

Born in Detroit, MI, and raised in Columbus, OH, Ming Smith moved to New York City in 1973 after receiving a degree from Howard University. She worked on both sides of the camera as a model and photographer. Ming documented black life and prominent cultural figures such as Grace Jones, Sun Ra, and James Baldwin as well as legendary jazz musicians. Smith became the first black woman photographer to be included in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. As the first female member of the Kamoinge Workshop, an influential African American photographic collective, Smith captured the streets of New York. Amen Corner Sisters, New York City, NY, 1976 is an iconic example of this body of work.

Terri Loewenthal is an artist and musician working in the tradition of landscape photography. Her acid-color photographs of the Southwest offer varying perspective of the environment. Loewenthal’s images are single, in-camera exposures created by utilizing a special tool she designed. The results of this technique are overlapping imagery in vivid saturated hues. Her Psychscape series looks at the emotional connection the artist has to the natural world. Originally from Washington D.C. and South Florida, Loewenthal lives and works in Oakland, California. She has been a musician for over a decade, performing with her bands Call and Response and Rubies and Shock.

Graciela Iturbide, Mexican, born 1942 Mujer Angel, Desierto de Sonora, 1979 Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm) Acquired 1995 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide is one of the most influential contemporary photographers of our time. Born in Mexico City, her powerful black and white images of her native home offers a deep and rare insight into the everyday lives of indigenous communities. Iturbide created the photograph Mujer Angel, Desierto de Sonora (Angel Woman, Sonora Desert) in 1979. The Seri woman maintains a strong connection to her ancient language and culture, however, Iturbide is able to capture a moment where the modern world pervades life as the woman is seen carrying a boom box into the landscape. The title refers to the woman hovering between two worlds. Iturbide began photographing after the death of her youngest daughter. She enrolled in a film class where she apprenticed with Manuel Álvarez Bravo, an important figure in 20th century Latin American photography. Since the 1970s, she has created photo essays of diverse cultures and communities. Her exhibition Graciela Iturbide’s Mexico was recently on view at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Carolle Bénitah is a French photographer who explores family, memory, and time in her mixed media image-based practice. She began gathering photographs of families at open air markets and antique shops, creating a surrogate family archive with the specific faces and bodies covered over in gold leaf—a surface upon which to connect with her own family images, as well as an historical nod to Renaissance gold-ground paintings to signify precious value. Toto à 7 mois explores family and memory—an acknowledgement of the artist’s own experiences with these themes. Bénitah was born in Casablanca and graduated from Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. She worked as a fashion designer for 10 years before turning to photography full time in 2001.

Tina Barney, American, born 1945 The Reception, 1985 C-print 48 × 60 inches (121.9 × 152.4 cm) Acquired 1986 JPMorgan Chase Art Collection © Tina Barney

Tina Barney is a fine art photographer known for her color portrait photography using a large format camera. Her subjects include elite families in intimate settings. Barney’s detailed compositions examine relationships between family and friends with brilliant detail as she captures serendipitous moments with a 4x5 camera. The Reception, 1985, captures her sister on her wedding day, with her hands clutching a handbag in a gesture similar to that of Angel Fernandez de Soto, the portrait by Picasso hanging on a wall behind her. An Impressionist painting of three apples also echoes the composition of the three people in the room. Barney was born in New York City and has been photographing for over 40 years. Her work is held in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Charlotte Eyerman, Executive Director and Global Head of the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection

Paris Photo: Looking at the world through a different lens

ART

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View Transcript |

Join us for an exclusive look into our upcoming 2022 Paris Photo exhibition

Diana Robinson Head of Investments & Engagement for Asia

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Audio Description

Diana Robinson, Head of Investments & Engagement for Asia

View Transcript |

Join us for an exclusive look into our upcoming 2022 Paris Photo exhibition

Audio Description

Art is in the D.N.A of many of our clients at J.P. Morgan - what would your advice be for those who are looking to begin their collecting journeys?

What are you most excited about for Paris Photo 2022?

Are there other works in the J.P. Morgan exhibition that you are particularly interested in seeing at Paris Photo?

Tell us about the environments you choose to photograph?

The subjects in your works act as a metaphor, can you explain the metaphor you are creating in Claire in the Forsythia?

Who are the subjects in your photographs? What is your relationship to them?

Can you tell us about your new book, Blue Violet? What sparked the initial idea for the publication?

For the past eleven years, it has been our privilege to partner with Paris Photo and share our passion for photography. We recently sat down with Cig Harvey, photographer and artist of this year’s lead image for our exhibition, A Different Lens, for an exclusive interview. Cig Harvey is a British born artist and writer, working in large-format color photography and creative nonfiction, whose practice seeks to find the magical in everyday life. She uses both images and language to explore sensory experiences and elevate the everyday. Rich in implied narrative, and deeply rooted in the natural world, her work is devoted to the topic of what it is to feel. Her image from this year's exhibition, Claire in the Forsythia, Rockport, offers a mystical view of her family life in rural Maine through vibrant use of color and natural light. Harvey has published five books, including her most recent, Blue Violet, in 2021. Her works are included in many permanent collections across the globe, including the Library of Congress, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the International Museum of Photography and Film at the George Eastman House, and Yale University.

Behind the Lens with Cig Harvey

Read THE INTERVIEW

Featured Artist Interview

Blue Violet, now in its third printing, came out of difficulty and struggle, but is also the most beautiful body of work I have ever made. I love that juxtaposition. I was struggling with the terminal illness of a very close friend, politically, the country was in turmoil, and then covid happened. In all the darkness, I wanted to make a body of work about life - an explosion of color and light. I wanted to bring more joy and beauty into the world. The pictures in Blue Violet are often of flowers, but they are not about flowers. The flowers are a metaphor for living and dying and what it is to feel. The short-lived ephemeral beauty of flowers and nature is a reminder to us all to pay attention to the present, live in the now, and appreciate the everyday. Tomorrow will be different.

Often family and friends, but sometimes I approach strangers. Photographing strangers puts me out of my comfort zone, which is an essential ingredient for an artist from time to time. If someone stops me in my tracks, the need to make a photograph of them overrules my shyness or introverted tendencies.

In Maine, forsythia is the first color of spring, and for two weeks in April, they are the source of awe and wonder. This picture is a call to live and feel more. It is an invitation for you to do the same thing - to be in the world, stand in the middle of a forsythia bush, and immerse yourself in color. Both art and nature can help heal and be a salve.

The natural world inspires me. It is a central theme in my work. I chose to live in rural Maine for this reason. I am reminded daily how precious and beautiful the world is. Sometimes it is the slant of light; other times, the cobalt blue of dusk in February, and just yesterday, the brilliant red of the blueberry barrens in fall. It was raining, and the muted foggy light made the fields look as if Saturn was exploding red all around me. I love the city for many cultural reasons, but my heart and work are in nature, and I am lucky enough to live in a place I am constantly inspired by and in awe of.

Yes, I am thrilled to be included in such great company. My work will be hanging alongside some of my heroes. Each piece in this exhibit is made by an artist who has dedicated their life to the photographic medium. Each with their own obsessions, in their unique visual voice. It is incredibly moving and a true honor.

I am so excited to be the special guest of J.P. Morgan in 2022. Over the last few months, I have worked closely with the J.P. Morgan art team, and their knowledge and dedication to art are unparalleled. It has been a joy. I am also looking forward to just being in Paris. I am traveling to Paris with my husband and daughter a few days before the fair. My 11-year-old daughter is a Francophile, but it will be her first time in France. I can't wait to walk the most beautiful city in the world with her and eat baguettes and croissants. Oh, and, of course, the incredible vintage shopping.

Follow your heart. Always follow your heart. What are you obsessed with? Search it out. I am a huge believer in buying and living with what you love. Homes are places of refuge, and filling the walls with work that inspires, challenges, and captivates is a beautiful way to live. My home is covered salon-style with works that have made me gasp in some way or another.