Thomas Bilanges
Vis-à-Vies
May 5—29, 2016
In 2005, photographer Thomas Bilanges visited the Musée Carnavalet in Paris and was struck by the resemblances between the faces of the museum's staff and the painted portraits on the walls around them. He began the project, which now consists of 180 portraits, by asking each staff person to select a favorite portrait—either painted, drawn, photographed, or sculpted—housed within the institution's walls. He then shot the chosen artworks using similar lighting and perspectives he had employed for their admirers. The resulting diptychs, which were exhibited at the Musée Carnavalet in 2012, are delightfully uncanny, highlighting overlapping expressions and gestures between the two subjects while flattening time and space to masterfully illustrate the deep connection one can feel to a work of art.
Thomas Bilanges is a freelance photographer living and working in Paris, France. His work has been shown at the Musée de la Photagraphie in Mougins, the Musée des Années 30 in Boulogne-Billancourt, and in various commercial galleries throughout France. He has also published numerous monographs of his work, including most recently the catalog for Vis-à-Vies in conjunction with the 2012 exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet. This is the first exhibition of Vis-à-Vies in the United States.