Fascinated by photography since childhood, Jean-François Rauzier commenced his studies in the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière in 1976. For 30 years, he has been exploring painting and sculpture. Enriched by his work with commercial photography, and as a  pioneer of the numerical collection, he invented the "Hyperphoto" concept, which allowed him to achieve his artistic goal. The artist was awarded the Screenings prize in 2006, the Arcimboldo prize for numerical creation in 2008 and the APPPF prize in 2009. His work is exhibited throughout the world: New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Seoul…

Jean-François Rauzier was immediately captivated by numerical photography when it penetrated the professional market 15 years ago. Ever since, he has been exploring the multiple opportunities offered by digital retouching and has become a "virtual" painter.

In 2002, he created the "Hyperphoto", a concept which enables him to take on the impossible: to combine both the infinitely big and infinitely small in one image, out of time.

To simulate the illusion of reality, Jean-François Rauzier first had to cope with all the inherent limits of photography and technology. He carved his way by digitally juxtaposing, duplicating, twisting images making it possible for him to reproduce human vision more accurately. As such, he generated a genuine numerical puzzle, in which the pieces are cut out and redrawn from his imagination. This technique provdies numerous, fascinating and unusual details on which the spectator can dwell on.

The multitude of images invites the spectator on a journey through a dream-like, fantastic and timeless worlds. These worlds are filled with icons and references born of the artist's cultural hall of fame.

A world beyond limits

Jean-Francois Rauzier's large format photographs transfigure reality. They impose their obsessing frontality and invite the spectator on an unprecedented journey into the visible. Distorting the Euclidian dimension, juxtaposing the whole and the details, they propose a plastic approach that breaks away from the unique point of view of the Renaissance. But above all, these evocative panoramic images place contemporary man at the core of a dizzying network of knowledge that renders him master of a new time-space where the macrocosm and the microcosm, the virtual and the concrete, the rational and the imaginary cohabitate.

In 2002, when he first created what he calls his hyperphotos, Jean-François Rauzier, already a well-known photographer was searching for an artistic approach that differed from the traditional pattern. His quest: "to see at the same time a larger vision and close-up, to stop time and be able to examine all the details of a fixed image". In other words, in using cinematic language, to which his work often refers, to achieve at the same time a 180° panoramic image and an ultra close-up zoom. Why? To point out, among other things, what escapes the eye, knowledge, and reason. And to find the hidden evidence of an intrigue that presents itself to the viewer in its blinding truth as in Antonioni's film "Blow-up" or in Edgar Poe's novel "The Stolen Letter".

"Fabricated" by the artist on his computer using hundreds of close-ups taken with a telephoto lens, these montages are filled with incongruous or surprising objects. In a sort of cinema scope, they project their deceptive realism: "For that, I'm careful to respect the shadows, reflections, and the true faults of reality", says their author. Some of these reconstitutions can go up to 2 million pixels and 30 GO! An expertise that permits, for example in "Poppies", to restitute the amplitude of a field of wheat as well as the insects teaming among its blades of grass, or as in "Paris" to sweep a whole section of the city at night, and yet penetrate the private lives in apartments where the lights are on.

"No lens is able to achieve, in one single shot, the sharpness that I obtain by assembling 200 photos", explains the artist who works on his screen as a painter on his canvas. On his digital tablet, he crops, redesigns, assembles tree trunks, branches, leaves and other objects and elements collected patiently, at the site, when something inspires a future fantastic, bizarre, or baroque scenario. Inventing tales, unfolding supernatural visions, drawing the spectator into the wanderings of his reveries - this is, in fact his objective. His challenge? Transform the world according to his fantasies, desires, interrogations, and rediscover the magic and strangeness of tales and legends using XXIst century tools. An original and inspired approach for passing from singular to universal and for conjugating the present with the timeless.

Elisabeth COUTURIER Author of "l'Art Contemporain, Mode d'Emploi" (Filipacchi)

EDUCATION

• Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2011

• Villa del Arte Galleries. Barcelona, Spain
• Bailly Gallery. Paris, France
• The Annenberg Space for photography, Los Angele, USA

2010

• Musée des années 30 – « Espace 2030 » Outremondes, Boulogne Billancourt, Paris, France
• Soho Building Galery, New York, USA
• Federal Reserve, Washington, USA

2009

• MMOMA, Moscow, Russia
• Waterhouse & Dodd Galery, London, UK
• Basia Embiricos Galery, Paris, France
• Bailly Galery, Paris, France

2008

• Second Parisian Tour of Photography, Paris, France
• Cosmos Galery – Arcimboldo Price, Paris, France
• Basia Embiricos Galery – Month of photography, Paris, France
• Honfleur Galery, Washington, USA

2007

• EDF Foundation – Espace Bazacle, Toulouse, France
• Espace l'Art en Direct, Paris, France
• Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, USA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2011

• Villa del Arte Galleries. Barcelona, Spain
• Pavillon des Arts et du Design – Tuileries, France
• American international art Fair. USA
• Art Palm Beach. USA
• Miami International Art Fair. USA

2010

• Riyadh Art Fair. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Abu Dhabi Art. Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates
• Art Hamptons. New York, USA
• Scope Basel. Bâle, Switzerland
• Tefaf. Maastricht, Netherlands
• Olympia fair. London, UK
• Miami Art Fair. Miami, USA
• American International Fine Art Fair. Palm Beach, USA
• Art Fair. Los Angeles, USA
• « L'imagerie » - Centre numérique. Lannion, France
• Pavillon des Arts et du Design. Paris – Tuileries, France

2009

• Scope Miami. Florida, USA
• Abu Dhabi Art. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• International Fine Art Fair. New York, USA
• Art Hamptons. New York, USA
• Art Athina. Athens, Greece
• 10 ans prix Arcimboldo – Museum du Montparnasse. Paris, France
• Festival international de la photographie. Seoul, South Corea
• Centre culturel. Rueil-Malmaison, France

2008

• Transphotographiques, Lille, France
• Scope Miami. Florida, USA
• Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie ( HP). Arles, France

2007

• Festival Pixels, guest of honor, Alençon, France

2006

• Photokina, Cologne, Germany
• Artexpo, Jacob Javis Center New-York, USA

PUBLICATIONS AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

2010

• Boutique Louise Vuitton. Venice, Italy
• Commission Perrier for Roland Garros. Paris, France
• Exclusive commission, The Office of the Board. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

2009

• Commission for Hotel de Ville. Paris, France
• Cognac Martell. Russia

2008

• Carlyle Group / Close Brothers / Emerige. Paris, France
• Acquisition of News Museums. Washington, USA

2007

• Kenzo Boutique George V street. Paris, France

2005

• Heineken for Culture Bière. Paris, France

 

AWARDS

2010

• Eurazeo. Paris, France

2009

• First prize Fundation d'Entreprise B. Braun. Paris, France
• First prize APPPF, category Photography of architecture. Paris, France

2008

• Prize Arcimboldo. Paris, France
• Prize for "La nuite du livre", category "du livre a la demande".
  Paris, France

2006

• Prize Screenings Salon Up-Date. Berlin, Germany

PUBLIATIONS

2010

• Goldaman Projects Space. Soho, New York, USA
• Federal Reserve "Illusions of reality" Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, Netherlands

2008

• "Hyperphotos" Maison Européenne de la photographie. Paris, France

2006

• "Hyperphotos" Rencontres Internationales de la photographie. Arles, France

2004

• Jean Francois Rauzier "Panoramas en Hyper photos", Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts. Paris, France