Bénédicte Van der Maar (born in 1968) is a French photographer and artist.
Biography
editVan der Maar was born in Paris. She entered the world of studio photography as an assistant of the photographer Jean-Loup Sieff. She then made portraits of friends, actors and dancers, which were exhibited in the city of Montrouge. She photographed in New York, Italy, Israel and India. Her "Accumulations" were noticed by "La Galerie Le Simoun"[1] which exhibited her work in Paris in 2007.[2] In 2008, the daily paper France-Soir published one of her photos titled The New Yorker.[3] Her series of conceptual photography Fragile was shown at the la Nuit de la Photographie Contemporaine exhibition in Paris.
In 2010, Van der Maar's work was shown by Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr at a French contemporary art auction.[4][5][6]
She travelled to Haiti to photograph the daily battles at Sun City. "Les Enfants du Cholera" was broadcast by Doctors Without Borders.[7][8][9]
In 2011 Van der Maar followed the "Little Buddha" in the jungle of Nepal. Her photo essay was published as a spread in Paris Match.[10]
Work
edit
Van der Maar's work is a reflection on women's role in society, as seen from different cultures.[11][12] "In her photography she occupies herself with the human beeing [sic] in the different regions of the world. [...] With her works Bénédicte van der Maar is a strong position in the new contemporary figurative and social french photography." writes German curator Martin Leyer-Pritzkow.[13]
Van der Maar focuses on fragility, on human topics. In her portraits, she depicts social, economic and cultural issues, she also exposes discrimination, like the exploitation and slavery of women and children.
"I'm interested in Human rights, particularly in Women's rights. Women are strong but their status is fragile. We can verify that everywhere. The man's vision is different in every culture, philosophy or religion, so the woman's existence is different every time. That's why she is fragile, because she lives "according to...". Fashion and advertising always portray a sublime idea of women, we never get to see the everyday life. That is my subject" explains the photographer in an interview for the exhibition "The Woman" in Versus & Versus Gallery, 2014.[14]
Exhibitions
edit- 2007 What Else, solo show, Galerie La Simoun, Paris, France.[15]
- 2009 Ils exposent pour la vie, group show, City Hall,[16] Paris, France.
- 2010 Fragile sculpture, group show, Galerie Maubert,[17] Paris, France.
- 2015 Good Earth, group show for the COP21 and GoodPlanet Foundation, Earth Gallery, Paris.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Galerie Le Simoun". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Exhibition". galerielesimoun.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Van der Maar France-Soir, 12 juin 2008, article.
- ^ "Van der Maar-Cornette "New York", enchère". auction.fr. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Van der Maar-Cornette "Fragile Blue"". auction.fr. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Van der Maar Cornette "Vinyles"". auction.fr. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Van der Maar MSF-UAE Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, photographies.
- ^ Van der Maar MSF-ie haïti unprepared in face of resurgent cholera, photographies.
- ^ MSF dons et legs, photographies.
- ^ Van der Maar Paris-Match, article.
- ^ "Van der Maar – City Hall". paris.fr. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Van der Maar, la photographe "Chocolate Woman" represent the 6th Nuit de la Photographie". joel-garcia-organisation.fr. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "new contemporary French figurative photography". mlpart.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Benedicte Van der Maar, retrieved 14 January 2016
- ^ "Galerie Le Simoun". galerielesimoun.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Van der Maar city hall Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, exhibition.
- ^ Van der Maar Maubert exhibition Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine,.
- ^ "Good Earth - Earth Gallery Paris". Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.