JEAN-FRANCOIS BAURET:
Early Nudes and Experiments

Dec. 2, 2020 - Feb. 2, 2021

RCM Galerie is pleased to present Jean-François Bauret an exhibition of works by the late French photographer from December 2 to February 2, 2021. From the 1960s, Bauret (1932-2014) lensed some of France's most iconic and recognizable advertising campaigns, most notably the famous and scandalous "naked man" of Sélimaille and, for Materna, a nude of a little girl with her pregnant mother. The latter was remarkable in all if its raw realism, in stark contrast to the age. Like Man Ray, whom Bauret fervently admired, Bauret's commissioned work joined his personal research. His stripped-down compositions show and celebrate the body directly, without ornamentation. His nudes are actually portraits. Said the artist: "With these images I wanted to portray the individual as they are, without expression or feeling, in a raw state, without any effect of light, decoration, clothing. Without any optical or color effect. Nudity is only absence of clothing and has nothing to do with eroticism or exhibitionism". Bauret continuously conducted personal research in the studio. His daringly choreographed pictures are offset with bare backgrounds and lighting. This artist was one of the first to be shown at the ARC (Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris) in 1971. At the time, he exhibited monumental nudes, ten years before those of Helmut Newton. RCM Galerie has made a choice of unique works for its exhibition: nudes, but also experimental works, exhibited for the first time.