Beautiful, sensitive and natural black-and-white photos of French artist and intellectual Hervé Guibert are on view at Callicoon Fine Arts in New York until February 10. The fifteen silver gelatine prints, taken between 1976 and 1988 and never before seen in the United States, portray intimate scenes of his private life surrounded by friends and, mostly, lovers.
A writer and critic at Le Monde, he surrounded himself with other artists and intellectuals like Sophie Calle or Michel Foucault. His most relevant literary work, À l’ami qui ne m’ha pas sauvé la vie (‘To the friend who didn’t save my life’ in English), grabbed the public’s attention as he revealed his status as an HIV-infected person – he died when he was just 36 years old. But the exhibition shows a more candid side to him: raw, straight-forward, with no artifice. And loving and caring as well. With this exhibition, we delve into the French’s private life while also remaining jus voyeurs of a life spent in connection with himself, his lovers, and nature.
The exhibition by Hervé Guibert is on view until February 10 at Callicoon Fine Arts, 49 Delancey St, New York.
