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Luc Delahaye, History, Mai 2003, © Courtesy Denis Ozanne, Paris.

Marina Abramovic, The Family VI, 2008, C-print, 180 x 294 cm, © Courtesy La Fabrica Galeria, Madrid.

Hicham Benohoud, Azemmour, 2007, © Courtesy Hicham Benohoud / Galerie Vu, Paris.

Taysir Batniji, Sky over Gaza I, © Courtesy La B.A.N.K. Paris.

Hannah Collins, True Stories Paris 1, 2009, Framed Giclée colour photography, 175 x 235 cm, © Courtesy Dominique Fiat, Paris.

Thomas Annan, High Street Glasgow, Vers 1866, © Courtesy Bernard Quaritch, London.

Rineke Dijkstra, Vondelpark, Amsterdam, June 19, 2005, 2005, C-print, 128 x 150 cm, © Courtesy La Fabrica Galeria, Madrid.

Jessica Backhaus, Marlon Brando, 2005, C-print, 28 x 35 cm, Courtesy of Robert Morat Galerie.

Reza Aramesh, Action 51, Kerem Shalom, Israel – February 17, 2008: Palestinian prisoners sit blindfolded on the ground after they were captured by Israeli soldiers, February 17, 2008, 124 x 159 cm, Courtesy B21 Gallery and the Artist.

Lalia Essaydi, Les femmes du Maroc: Harem Beauty #2, 2008, Chromogenic print mounted to aluminium, © Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York.

Carla Van de Puttelaar, Untitled, 2009, C-print, © Carla van de Puttelaar / Courtesy Flatland Gallery, Utrecht.

Van Leo, Sherihan actrice égyptienne, Le Caire, Egypte, 1976, Collection Fondation Arabe pour l'Image – Fondation Arabe pour l'Image.

Paris Photo 2009
Carrousel du Louvre
99 rue de Rivoli
Paris

In 2009, Paris Photo undertakes an exploration of photographic practices in the Orient. Photography arrived in the region in the 19th Century. It has become the dominant medium in what is today a diverse and autonomous contemporary art scene that is now attracting considerable interest internationally. Catherine David, Director of Documenta X at Kassel in 1997 and the author of numerous exhibitions and publications on Arab contemporary artistic production, will present the major characteristics of this emerging and poorly documented scene, in three parts. First is the Central Exhibition showing a selection of rare images from the collections of the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut. The Statement section will provide an overview of emerging talent form Tehran to Damascus, Beirut to Cairo and Tangiers to Dubai. The Project Room will offer a programme of video screenings, testimony to growing interest the dynamics of this medium among the artists of the region.

A number of Western galleries in the general section will be presenting the work of established Arab and Iranian artists such as Abbas Kiarostami at the London gallery Purdy Hicks, Abbas on Iran at Magnum Gallery, Morocco’s Yto Barrada at Polaris, Egypt’s Youssef Nabil at Michael Stevenson, the Palestinian Taysir Batniji at La B.A.N.K and Lebanon’s Fouad El Khoury at Tanit. Other galleries have chosen to show Western visions of the East, in particular some of the earliest examples of orientalist photography presented by Baudoin Lebon, Serge Plantureux and Hershkowitz. Also showing is the work of contemporary artists such as Gabriele Basilico on Beirut, Philippe Chancel on Dubai, Lars Tunbjork on Oman etc.

Paris Photo, the world’s leading fair for 19th Century, modern and contemporary photography will feature 102 exhibitors including 89 galleries and 13 publishers. With 75% of selected participants coming from 23 countries, the 2009 edition is remarkable in terms of its geographical diversity. With 11 galleries Germany is first among the foreign participants, followed by the United States with 10 galleries, the United Kingdom (7), the Netherlands (6), Japan and Spain (5 galleries each), Italy (3), two each from South Africa, Denmark the United Arab Emirates, Finland, Tunisia, and finally one for Austria, Belgium, China, South Korea, Hungary, Portugal, Russia, Lebanon and Morocco. France is represented by 21 galleries, among which several newcomers make their debut such as La B.A.N.K, Patricia Dorfman, Dominique Fiat, Françoise Paviot and la Galerie RX.

With 31 first-time participants, the emphasis in this year’s selection is on renewal and up-and-coming galleries such a Motive from Amsterdam, Kuckei+Kuckei from Berlin, Nusser & Baumgart from Munich, or Pente 10 from Lisbon. They show alongside established and prestigious names such as Goodman Gallery, South Africa’s historic gallery founded in 1965, and Munich’s Fine Old Masters, a regular at TEFAF Maastricht. Denmark’s Bo Bjerggaard is back and Robert Koch Gallery of San Francisco and Toni Tapiès of Barcelona show for the first time.

The BMW-Paris Photo prize is designed to support contemporary creativity and is awarded once a year to an artist/photographer for his or her work on a theme related to BMW France’s advertising campaign. For its sixth edition, the prize, reserved for artists represented by galleries participating in Paris Photo, will reveal the best in contemporary photography with work on the theme “When was the last time you had a unique experience?” The winner will be chosen from among the short-listed artists whose work will be on display during Paris Photo. The €12,000 prize will be awarded on Wednesday, November 18.

The 2009 jury is presided by Philippe Dehennin, President of BMW France Robert Delpire, Photographer and publisher, Paris, TJ Demos, Art critic and writer, London, Matthias Harder, Curator and Director of the Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin, Manfred Heiting, Collector, Los Angeles and Sandra S. Phillips, Senior Curator of Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This November, Paris Photo coincides with several major photographic events in Paris: Michael Kenna, retrospective at Bibliothèque nationale de France, The Subversion of Images, Surrealism, Photography, Film at Centre Pompidou, August Sander: Seeing, Observing, Thinking at Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation, Delpire & Cie at Maison européenne de la photographie, Federico Fellini, La Grande Parade at Jeu de Paume. In addition, the Middle East will be the main focus of exhibitions such as Palestine, creation in all states at the Arab World Institute, Djân, Body and Soul at VU Gallery , 150 years of Iranian Photography at Musée du Quai Branly, or Iran 1979-2009: Between Hope and Chaos, 30 years of Iranian Documentary Photography at Monnaie de Paris.

Exhibiting Galleries: 798 Photo Gallery, Beijing. Juana de Aizpuru, Madrid. Anhava Helsinki. Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen. Base Gallery,Tokyo. baudoin lebon, Paris. Bernard Quaritch, London. Bernheimer Fine Art Photography Munich. Daniel Blau Munich. Galleri Bo Bjerggaard Copenhagen. Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York. Brancolini Grimaldi, Rome/Florence. Camera Obscura, Paris. Caprice Horn* Berlin. Michèle Chomette, Paris. Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam. DNA Berlin. Patricia Dorfmann Paris. Johannes Faber, Vienna. Dominique Fiat Paris. Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Anvers. Les Filles du Calvaire, Paris. Flatland, Utrecht. FOIL GALLERY, Tokyo. Forma Galleria, Milan. Eric Franck, London. Françoise Paviot* Paris. Galeria Fucares, Madrid. G/P Tokyo. Goodman Gallery Johannesburg. Howard Greenberg, New York. Guido Costa Projects Turin. Hamiltons, London. Robert Hershkowitz, Sussex, UK. Michael Hoppen, London. Edwynn Houk, New York. galerie du jour agnès b. Paris. Keumsan Gallery, Seoul. Robert Klein, Boston. Robert Koch Gallery San Francisco. Galerie Van Kranendonk, The Hague. Hans P. Kraus Jr. New York. Kudlek van der Grinten, Cologne. Kuckei + Kuckei Berlin La B.A.N.K. Paris. La Fabrica Galeria, Madrid. Lumière des Roses; Montreuil. Magnum Gallery, Paris. Robert Mann, New York. Max Estrella, Madrid. m Bochum, Bochum. MEM, Osaka. Michael Stevenson, Cape Town. Laurence Miller, New York. Robert Morat Hamburg. Motive Amsterdam. Taro Nasu,Tokyo. Nusser & Baumgart Contemporary Munich. Obsis Paris. Priska Pasquer, Cologne. Pente 10 Lisbon. The Photographer’s Gallery London. Serge Plantureux, Paris. Pobeda Gallery Moscow. Polaris, Paris. Purdy Hicks London. Le Réverbère, Lyon. Yancey Richardson, New York. Galerie RX Paris. Bruce Silverstein Photography, New York. TaiK, Helsinki, Tanit*Munich., Thessa Herold, Paris Toluca, Paris. Galeria Toni Tapies Barcelona. Torch Gallery Amsterdam. Vintage, Budapest. Vu’ la Galerie, Paris. Esther Woerdehoff, Paris. Xippas, Paris/Athens. Van Zoetendaal, Amsterdam.

Arab and Iranian Galleries: Assar Art Gallery Tehran / Mohammad Ghazali, Sadegh Tirafkan, B21 Gallery Dubai / Reza Aramesh, Ramin Haerizadeh, U.A.E. El Marsa Tunis / Lamia Naji, Galerie 127 Marrakech / Malik Nejmi. Selma Feriani London/Tunis / Raja Aissa, Sama Alshaibi, Rula Halawani. Sfeir-Semler Beirut/Hamburg / Yasser Alwan, Walid Raad, Wael Shawky, Akram Zaatari. Silk Road Tehran / Bahman Jalali, Gohar Dashti, Katayoun Karami, The Empty Quarter Dubai / Fara Nosh, Asim Rafiqi.

Publishers: Antiquariaat L. van Paddenburgh, Leiden. The Aperture Foundation, New York. Book Shop m, Tokyo. Filigranes Editions, Paris/Trézélan. Simon Finch Rare Books, London. Harper’s Books, East Hampton. Hatje Cantz, Stuttgart. Librairie 213, Paris. Tissato Nakahara, Paris. Denis Ozanne, Paris. Phaidon, Paris/London. Schaden.com, Cologne. Steidl, Gottingen/London.

Holly Andres, The Red Purse, From the series: Sparrow Lane, 2008, © Holly Andres, Courtesy Robert Mann Gallery, New York.

William Hammerschmidt, Femme arabe portant un costume d'intérieur, Vers 1860, Tirage sur papier albuminé, © Courtesy Lumiére des Roses, Montreuil.

Catherine Robbe-Grillet, L'hommage a Yves Klein, Photographie n& b réalisée lors du tournage du film de Alain Robbe-Grillet Glissements progressifs du plaisir, 1974, (Anicée Alvina), Tirage d'époque, Crédit: Catherine Robbe-Grillet / Productions Coséfa, Films – Courtesy Galerie Obsis, 23,9 x 18 cm.

Norman Parkinson, The art of travel, Vogue, 1951, Modern gelatin silver, 50 x 40 cm., © Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive and Eric Franck Fine Art.

Frantisek Drtikol, Zena ve Svetie, Praha: E. Beaufort, 1930, © Courtesy Harper's Books.

Yuki Onodera, Transvest Dave, 2003, Gelatin-silver print, 197 x 125 cm, © Courtesy Galerie RX, Paris.

Gabriela Marawetz, Plus proche de moi que moi-meme, 2009, Jet d'encre pigmentée sur voile et toile, 170 x 104 cm, © Gabriela Morawetz, courtesy Thessa Herold, Paris.

Barbara Probst, Exposure #65: N.Y.C., 55 8th Avenue, 11.26.08, 6:11 p.m., 2009, Ultrachrome ink on cotton paper, 2 parts 112 x 112 cm each, Kuckel + Kuckel Gallery, Berlin.

Panoramic watercolour of Mecca, 1843, © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

Muhammad leading Hamzah and the Muslims against the Banu Qaynuqa' from Jami' al-Tawarikh by Rashid al-Din, Iran, Tabriz, dated 714 AH (1314-15 AD), ink, transluscent and opaque watercolor, gold and silver on paper, 43.5 x 30 cm, © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

Judith with the Severed Head of Holofernes, signed Muhammad Zaman, Iran, Isfahan, c. 1680 AD, opaque gold and watercolor on paper, 33.5 x 21 cm, © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

Hookah Base and Mouthpiece, © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

Institut du Monde Arabe
1 rue des Fossés-
Saint-Bernard
Place Mohammed-V
Tel. +33 (0)1 40 51 38 38
Paris
The Arts of Islam
Masterpieces
from the Khalili Collection
October 6, 2009-
March 14, 2010

Some 500 selected pieces from the fabulous Nasser D Khalili Collection of Islamic Art will be on view, most of which have not been exhibited in Europe before. The pieces span thirteen centuries and include richly illuminated copies of the Holy Qur’an as well as secular manuscripts and paintings, magnificent wall hangings and carpets, exquisite ceramics and glass, fine metalwork and sumptuous gold, jewels and lacquerware together with carvings in wood and stone. The exhibition will display these treasures in three main sections, Faith, Wisdom and Destiny, to illustrate not only the relationship between art and the sacred, but also what is meant by the term "Islamic art."

In this context, the term "Islamic art" is used in the first place to describe art produced by Muslim artists for Muslim patrons (although there are numerous works in Islamic styles produced by, or for, non-Muslims). It reflects the geographical and cultural diversity of the lands of Islam, covering a multitude of forms from architectural decoration to the arts of the book and the decorative arts such as glass, metalwork, pottery, jewellery and textiles. The term ‘Islamic’ does not entail that this art is necessarily religious in content or use: much of it is secular in nature. Instead, it is ‘Islamic’ because its artistic vocabulary is deeply rooted in Muslim philosophical thought, so that the creative expression of the various Muslim peoples is shaped by the spirit and the doctrines of the Muslim faith.

Calligraphy is especially important, as the means by which the Qur’anic text was recorded and transmitted. The various scripts, moreover, play an important role not only in manuscripts but also in architecture, ceramics, glass, textiles and other media. Contrary to popular assumption, figural imagery also plays an important role in Islamic art. Although the representation of the human form and animals was not permitted in a religious context, this rule did not extend to secular art.

The Arts of Islam illustrates the breadth of artistic achievement in the Islamic world from the 7th century to the early 20th century with pieces from China and India to Turkey, from Iran to Egypt, and from Iraq to Tunisia and Spain. Objects from the early Islamic dynasties of the 7th to 10th centuries demonstrate the development of the new Islamic style which was still influenced to some extent by the artistic traditions of the preceding Sasanian and Byzantine periods.

Subsequently, the medieval Islamic period from the 10th to early 13th centuries was a time of exceptional artistic production involving new materials such as lustre-painted ceramics and paper. It was also marked by a dramatic evolution of manuscript decoration, seen in the magnificent display of illuminated Qur’ans.

Following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, Islamic art featured refined styles heavily influenced by the cultures of Central Asia and China. Objects of particular interest are a saddle with delicate filigree gold trappings, dating from the 13th-14th century, and Rashid al-Din’s Jami‘ al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), the first Muslim universal history, written in 1314-15, seen through the eyes of the Mongol conquerors.

An increase in the production of illuminated manuscripts, in particular wonderfully detailed Persian and Ottoman miniature paintings, the development and profusion of blue and white ceramic wares as well as the emergence of fine Iznik pottery, are expressed in the splendid display of objects from the Safavid and Ottoman periods in the 16th to 19th centuries. One of the highlights of this display is the ten folios from the Shahnamah (The Book of Kings), made for the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (1514-1576) who was himself a painter of miniatures. Colourful enamelled objects from Mughal India, intricately executed jewellery studded with precious stones, and finely woven carpets and textiles also feature strongly in these periods.

This breathtaking exhibition ends with pieces from the later 19th century such as enamelled pocket watches with portraits of rulers and delicately painted lacquer pen boxes which clearly show the impact of European influence on the arts of Islam during this period.

The Nasser D Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, with some 20,000 works, is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the entire history of Islamic art from its beginnings in the 7th century until the present day. The entire Collection is being published under the auspices of the Khalili Family Trust and will comprise 31 volumes in total, 17 of which are already available.

The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection has previously been exhibited in Australia and Abu Dhabi. The Institut du Monde Arabe welcomes to Europe for the first time this collection of exceptional objects that bear testimony to the brilliance and artistic sophistication of the cultures of Islam.

Single folios from an oblong-format Qur'an surah al-Baqarah (II, 'The cow'), verses 120-27, and surah Al-'Imran (III, 'The Family of Imran), verses 55-64, North Africa or Spain, 10th century AD, gold on vellum stained royal blue, 15 lines Kufic, 28.3 x 37.7 cm, © Nour Foundation. Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.