The photo exhibits to visit right now

© Georges Pierre - Ellen von Unwerth - Tina Barney

On the occasion of Paris Photo 2024, the Do It Team brings you its top list of must-see photo exhibits in Paris. From prestigious hotels like the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme featuring Ellen von Unwerth, to the Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson, and galleries such as Jeu de Paume and the Galerie de l’Instant in the heart of the Marais—you’re in for a treat.

The exhibit at Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme retraces the history of fashion photography from a female perspective, through the work of Ellen von Unwerth. A former 70s model, the German artist refined her vision by observing how the male gaze often sexualized top models, herself included. Taking up the camera herself, she sought to transform fashion photography by celebrating an aesthetic that is erotic and subversive, yet free from male expectations. Ellen von Unwerth gives a giant middle finger to the male gaze: her approach empowers women, making them actors of their own image, while refreshing the codes of fashion photography.

The few works exhibited in the hotel feature icons you’ll recognize 100%. Drew Barrymore laughing, Naomi Campbell as a rebel, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista strolling, and Claudia Schiffer in her early Guess days—these girlbosses of past decades adorn the walls of Café Jeanne. The photographer has even collaborated with the master bartender of the venue to craft a spicy cocktail, to savor as you contemplate her works. An experience not to be missed!

Ellen Von Unwerth at Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, 5 rue de la Paix, Paris 2nd, until December 1, 2024. Free entry.

© Ellen von Unwerth - Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme

In 2004, opening a gallery without a planned exhibition led its founder to explore her father’s photographic archives. François Gragnon, a Paris Match photographer, inspired the creation of the Galerie de l’Instant. Julia Gragnon discovered a treasure of images in the Paris Match archives, initially exhibiting her father's work. Through new connections and artistic friendships, the gallery became a venue for other great photographers, such as Lucien Clergue, Paolo Pellegrin, and Bruce Weber. Until January 12, 2025, Galerie de l’Instant is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a beautiful exhibit of its best photographs.

You’ll recognize many icons here: Kate Moss in a field, Madonna languidly on a couch, a tousled Jane Birkin, Linda Evangelista in her early days... The black-and-white photos lend a nostalgic vibe to this must-see exhibit. Nestled in the heart of the Marais, the gallery and its two floors offer a real little journey through eras in music, modeling, and cinema. A special mention goes to the cozy basement room, where the stone walls and arched ceiling give an irresistible charm to the space lined with photographs. You’d stay there for hours!

20 YEARS! at Galerie de l’Instant, 46 rue de Poitou, Paris 3rd, until January 12, 2025. Free entry.

© Georges Pierre - Lucienne Bloch

The Fondation d’entreprise Hermès has created a program of cross-residencies between France and the United States to encourage the production of new series. Raymond Meeks, a winner of their program, completed an art residency in France in 2022. During this stay, he explored the Calais region and the Basque Country, focusing on the journeys of refugees trying to cross these historic borders. In his photographic series The Inhabitants, exhibited at the Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson, he captures landscapes and everyday objects abandoned by migrants—shoes, blankets, jackets—in often inhospitable, temporary places like ditches, highwaysides, and vacant lots. A real sneak peek into the lives of people we often only see out of the corner of our eye...

This work, which focuses on traces left by migrants rather than their faces, speaks to the precariousness of their movements through transitional places. The photo series features many black-and-white images, as well as some in color. Meeks continues his artistic exploration of how individuals occupy the world, how they are inhabitants, and the invisible links that bind them.

The Inhabitants, Fondation Henri-Cartier Bresson, 79 rue des Archives, Paris 3rd, until January 5, 2025. Starting at €10.

© Raymond Meeks - Lobjoy-Bouvier-Boisseau Architecture

French artist Mame-Diarra Niang explores the “black body” in her new photo series exhibited at the Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson, aiming to free it from Western representations and stereotypes that have long held it captive. Rather than defining or narrating it, she attempts to “de-identify” it and create “non-portraits”—abstract images that reflect the essence of the body—by stripping it of overly defining elements. She questions her identity as a Black woman as a fluid state, shaped by fleeting experiences, memories, and forgetfulness. This is what inspired the name of this exhibit: Remember to Forget.

This photographic series, begun during lockdown, sees her rephotographing screens and exploiting visual defects in photography (like blurs and distortions). Mame-Diarra Niang aims to create enigmatic images: inspired by Rorschach inkblots (ink spots on paper that therapists have patients interpret), she uses these imperfections to create projection surfaces, inviting viewers to reflect on unconscious aspects of identity, rather than on what is apparent and obvious. An exhibit with unexpected, surprising works!

Remember to Forget at Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson, 79 rue des Archives, Paris 3rd, until January 5, 2025. Starting at €10.

© Mame-Diarra Niang - Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson

The exhibition dedicated to Tina Barney at the Jeu de Paume is the artist’s largest European retrospective to date, covering 40 years of her career. Born in 1945, Barney began capturing her family in the 1970s, exploring family dynamics, especially intergenerational ones, in carefully staged domestic scenes. Her large-format portraits, inspired by classical painting in both composition and size, reveal intimate moments among her subjects, such as kitchen scenes, lunch gatherings, or group outings. You’d almost feel part of the family! Tina Barney uses her art as a path of self-reflection: “The only way to question yourself or the history of your life is through photography.”

She has also photographed celebrities for the press and luxury brands, showing the same sensitivity and complexity as in her personal work. The exhibition includes 55 prints, featuring both personal works and commissioned pieces, including portraits of familiar faces like Julianne Moore. Some, ultra-colored and supercharged, are a true journey to the 1970s and 1980s. We’re obsessed with this exhibit, which almost feels like a movie set!

Family Ties, Jeu de Paume Paris, 1 place de la Concorde, Paris 8th, until January 19, 2025. Starting at €12.

© Tina Barney - Jeu de Paume - Nicolas Krief