retrospective
2026
Retrospective
Planches Contact is showcasing the great New York photographer from Magnum Photos, Bruce Gilden, whose work has rarely been exhibited in France. Whilst he is also presenting work created this year during a residency in Normandy focusing on young farmers, this exhibition offers an opportunity to revisit the oeuvre of this master of street photography, renowned for his direct, raw and uncompromising gaze. For this major retrospective exhibition on Deauville beach, we revisit his New York of the 1970s and 1980s. These years forged his sharp style, yet one still imbued with a certain nostalgic tenderness for that era. With his lens close to the faces and his art of vertical framing, Bruce Gilden paints a raw and striking portrait of New York society. The characters of this city and its iconic Coney Island beach will take over Deauville beach in imposing large-format prints, with around forty images on display.
An American photographer born in 1946 in Brooklyn (New York), Bruce Gilden lives and works in New York. Self-taught, he became a leading figure in street photography, developing a direct, frontal style from the late 1960s onwards, characterised by the use of flash and tight framing of passers-by’s faces. His dynamic and graphic style, initially in black and white and later in colour, has earned him international recognition and a strong visual identity within Magnum Photos, of which he is a member. He has received numerous awards, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Japan Foundation. His works are held in numerous international collections, including the MoMA (New York), the V&A Museum (London) and the Getty Museum (Los Angeles).