Fashion wasn’t what you wore someplace anymore; it was the whole reason for going.
—Andy Warhol
Gagosian Paris is pleased to announce an exhibition of photographs by Andy Warhol from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. Taken primarily during his trips to Paris, the images capture notable figures in the artist’s inner circle, including many key names in fashion, and depict well-known locations in the city. All of the works come from a distinguished collection that incorporates one of the most extensive selections of Warhol’s photographs in private hands.
Warhol was a lifelong photographer and even had a darkroom in his family home when he was a young man. Best known for using a Polaroid camera, he also took photo booth strips in the 1960s, and these became the source material for paintings reflecting his preoccupation with mechanical reproduction, serial repetition, and the removal of the artist’s hand. In 1977, Swiss art dealer Thomas Ammann gave Warhol a 35-millimeter Minox camera; this essential tool, which he referred to as his “date,” was a constant companion in the final decade of his life.
The selection of photographs in this exhibition is organized into four thematic parts: Warhol, Paris, Fashion, and Celebrities. It features unique silver gelatin prints—among them self-portraits; views of metropolitan streets, buildings, and monuments; and evocations of the capital’s fashion scene—and Polaroid portraits of French and international actors, designers, and models enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame.