User:Simonchaput/sandbox

Simon Chaput

Simon Chaput was born in France, December 3 1952 from a French father and English mother. He is an artist/photographer and has been living in the United States since 1983.

Early life

Simon Chaput has had a passion for photography since his father gave him a Kodak Brownie camera for his 8th birthday. As a youth, he devoured photography publications, taught himself how to shoot and set up his own darkroom so that he could print his pictures. His intent was to study photography after secondary school, but due to setbacks, including a required French military service that he spent as a sailing instructor in Tahiti, his desire to be a photographer was thwarted until later life. After studying to become a veterinarian, he went back to his original passion of art and photography and opened an art gallery in France that he run for 7 years from 1977 to 1983.

Early career

It wasn’t until after he left France, closing down his art gallery that he had owned for seven years and moved to New York in 1983, that he would be inspired again to start shooting and focus on his photography.

During the first month of his arrival in 1983, he met Jeanne Claude and Christo who became friends, mentors, family, inspirations, and collaborators. Simon started working on their projects in different capacities as needed, ranging from the director of their offices in Paris for The Pont Neuf Wrapped, scouting and coordinating for The Umbrellas in Japan and California, The Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, Wrapped Trees in Switzerland, The Gates in New York City and The Floating Piers in Italy. While on these projects, he found time to shoot the participants and the process of these large scale art pieces while being a part of them.

Between working on the Christo’s projects, he started shooting for himself. In 1987, Simon traveled to Tibet, which had just opened up from Chinese stronghold to foreigners and he began a long period of documentary work that would lead to other photography trips around the world. The Australian Outback and the American Southwest would be his next two locations where he would continue his own personal documentary landscape work, focusing on the panoramic form.

Documentary Documentary work that he has been commissioned to shoot includes the Rally of the Pharaohs in Egypt in 1990, from which photos of his were featured in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Magazine.

In 1991, he was invited on a United Nations sponsored trip to document the ecological situation in Peru in preparation for the environmental focused, Rio Conference. He also started the first of several working relationships with documentary filmmakers. He first worked on the set of Liberators with Nina Rosenblum and they would continue to work together on two other films Women Photographers and In search of Pitt Street, all focusing on social conscientious subject matter.

In 1993, Simon collaborated with filmmaker, Gaetano Maida on two films about the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is every step and Touching peace which led to Simon becoming the teacher’s primary photographer. Simon’s photos have been published in over 20 books of Thich Nhat Hanh, including The Joyful Path (Parallax Press 1994).

Career

In 1995, Simon set out on a trip through India and started his series on the Jantar Mantar, which is a study on the Stone Observatories in Jaipur and Delhi, built in the 18th Century. He fell in love with the complex shapes of these instruments and shot them on sunny cloudless days when contrast is strong so he could abstract the photographs using the dark shadows as the negative space. This series lead to a beautiful book Jantar Mantar published by Nazraeli Press in 2016 with an original short story by Salman Rushdie who used to go there as a child with his father.

In 1996, he started his first long-term personal fine art series, New York, shooting the architecture in New York. This work is really what shaped his distinct style of abstracting the images by playing with negative space and paying special attention to the composition in order to achieve geometrical compositions that intentionally throw off the viewer and forces them to look at these otherwise recognizable buildings in a new way. This series can also be considered as documentary work, due to the city changing over the years. His striking images of the World Trade Center have become iconic and revered, as much as the buildings themselves before they were destroyed. In 2006, The Brooklyn Museum acquired one of his photos from this series for the group show Looking Back from Ground Zero.

In 1997, Simon joined the Howard Greenberg Gallery, which still represents him today in New York.

In 1999, Simon received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to specifically document the primitive Kogi Indians located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains, Columbia. This project was in correlation with the documentary film about the Kogi, From the Heart of the World by Alan Ereira. The grant allowed Simon to spend three months in the jungle shooting the isolated, ancient tribe to help them convey their environmental message to world. From this trip, Simon produced a stunning portfolio of black and white photos exposing the tribe’s vulnerable dependency to their natural environment.

In 2000, he returned to his own fine art work and set off for Death Valley in California with a nude model. He was inspired by the way the female body echoed the dunes, but came to realize he could shoot the nude in the studio as the dunes themselves. Thus, his black and white Nudes series began and he was given his first show at Howard Greenberg Gallery in 2003. He joined The Photographers Gallery (London) in 2003, and was given a show with the Nudes in 2004. In 2005, he had a show with the Nudes in the Hyatt Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. He joined the Fifty One Fine Art Photo Gallery (Antwerp) in 2005, and had his first show with Nude Dune in 2007.

In 2007, he began his next long-term series Waterfalls. The original intent was to photograph the extreme waves on the rugged western coast of the Aran Islands in Ireland, but due to a wave crashing his camera the first day of shooting, he had to reexamine his intent and possibilities. This led him to discover a waterfall in the area and inspiration struck. He continued traveling over the next few years to Ireland, before he discovered the many waterfalls surrounding his home base of New York. Given the precise weather conditions of little light and specific amount of water needed in the falls, it became easier to continue the series and travel close to home.

In 2009, Simon joined the Jackson Fine Art Gallery (Atlanta, GA) and had a show Nudes and Waterfalls in 2010.

In 2010, Simon was commissioned to shoot for the Paris Opera. His work for them has since then been featured in their programs, website, and billboards around Paris promoting the Opera’s productions.

Since 2010 the Royal Monceau Hotel, redesigned by Philippe Stark, owns 58 large silver gelatin fiber base Waterfall photographs in their collection (the curator was Hervé Mikaeloff).

In 2011, the Waterfalls were featured in the show Water at the Fifty One Fine Art Gallery (Antwerp).

In 2014, Simon was commissioned to shoot the Miami Art Deco buildings for a feature in the Miami Art Basel Magazine. The photographs were exhibited at Art Basel Miami by the Howard Greenberg Gallery. In 2016, Nazraeli Press published Jantar Mantar a book with Simon’s photographs and an original short story by Salman Rushdie. The book was launched at the Noguchi Museum in New York. In 2019, Simon Chaput was invited to join the Photo and Video Council at the Perez Art Museum Miami. Simon’s work has been shown at the prestigious photo fair, Paris Photo in Paris, France with Howard Greenberg Gallery since 2000, and Fifty One Fine Art Gallery starting in 2006. His work is in many private and public collections worldwide, including the Bonnie and Simon Levin collection. The Nick Pritzker collection, The Goldman Sachs Collection (NY), Brooklyn Museum (NY), John Kaldor collection (Australia), the Baur au Lac Hotel (Switzerland), Le Royal Monceau Hotel (Paris). Simon joined the Foreign Press Association in 1992, and continues as a member today. His work has been published in over 80 international publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Harper Collins Books, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Le Figaro, and L’Express. He has been featured in articles on his work in numerous publications, including Art Basel Miami Beach Magazine (USA), Surface Magazine (USA), Beaux Arts Magazine (France), Kyoto Journal (Japan), Gatsby Magazine (Germany), Soon Magazine (France) and L’Officiel Levant (Lebanon).. Simon’s body of work over the years went from social and subject documentary, color panoramic to fine art black and white. Through his work with nature and individuals, he hopes to highlight social and environmental issues that affect the world. Balancing that with his artful black and white series, he enjoys sharing a different way of looking at beauty found around us, whether it is through architecture or the female body or waterfalls. Since the beginning of his photography career, he continues to shoot with film and develops at home in his dark room and prints on silver gelatin fiber base paper.

List of works

1991			The American Southwest, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah 1991			The Nazca Lines, Peru 1991 - 1998 		The Umbrellas, Christo and Jeanne Claude, Japan and California 1992 - 1998		Rivers of the Southwest, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico 1995 - 2000		Jantar Mantar, The Stone Observatories, India 1995 			In the Footsteps of Buddha, India 1995 			Khajuraho, India 1996 - ongoing 	New York, New York City 1997 - 1999		The Kogi in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia 1997 - ongoing	Paris Buildings, Paris, France 1997 - ongoing	The Trees, Paris, France 1998			Desert Africa, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa 2000 - 2001 		Death Valley Nudes, Nevada 2000 - 2005 		Nudes, Studio work in New York City 2006 - ongoing	Waterfalls, Ireland, Pennsylvania and New York 2014 - ongoing	Miami Art Deco, Miami Beach, Florida 2016			Jantar Mantar, Nazraeli Press

Exhibitions

2000 September	Austellungshalle Kraft, Basel, Switzerland, New York, Nudes,  Jantar Mantar 2000 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2001 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2002 June		Curators Gallery, Munich, Germany, Nudes 2002 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2003 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2003 December	Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, Nudes 2003 January		Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Photo LA, Los Angeles 2004 November	The Photographers Gallery, London, Nudes 2004 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2004 June		A3-Art, Paris, France, Nudes and Nude Dune 2004 April		Hyatt Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, Nudes 2005 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2006 August		Brooklyn Museum, group show, Looking Back from Ground Zero 2006 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2007 May		Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, Photo London, UK 2007 September	Howard Greenberg Gallery, Photo Shanghai, China 2007 November	Gallery 51, Antwerp, Belgium, Nude Dune 2008 November	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Paris Photo, France 2010 March		Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Nudes and Waterfalls 2010 July		Picto, group show, Les Rencontres Photographiques, Arles, France, 2011 January		Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Water, group show, Antwerp, Belgium 2011 June		AD-Galerie, group show, Art Basel, Switzerland 2011 November	Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, Paris Photo, France 2012 November	Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, Paris Photo, France 2013 April		Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, AIPAD, New York 2013 November	Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, Paris Photo, France 2014 November	Fifty One Fine Art Photography, group show, Paris Photo, France 2014 December	Howard Greenberg Gallery, group show, Art Basel Miami 2016 October		Local Galeria, Maco Photo, Mexico City, Jantar Mantar 2016 December	Noguchi Museum, New York, Jantar Mantar Book launch 2017 March		Nazraeli Press, Paris Photo New York, Jantar Mantar 2017 December	Nisi B Home, Design District, Miami, Nudes and Waterfalls 2018 March		The Gallery Club, Miami, Jantar Mantar 2018 December	Casacor Miami, New York and Jantar Mantar

Collections

Alfonso Pluchinota collection, Padova, Italy Anita Neugebauer collection, Basel, Switzerland Beaudoin Lebon collection, Paris, France Bonnie and Simon Levin collection, Miami, United States Brooklyn Museum, New York, United States Christo and Jeanne Claude collection, New York, United States David Kahn collection, Basel, Switzerland Emmanuel Perrin collection, New York, United States Gigi and Andrea Kracht collection, Zurich Switzerland Goldman Sachs collection, New York, United States Guy Pieters collection, Knokke, Belgium Isabel and Peter Zuppinger collection, Erlenbach, Switzerland Isabelle Werenfels Collection, Berlin, Germany Jack Walsh collection, Whitehouse, New Jersey, United States Jérome Szeemann collection, Basel, Switzerland John Kaldor collection Sydney, Australia Josy Kraft collection, Basel, Switzerland JP Morgan collection, New York, United States Leila Voight collection, Paris, France Lynn Hanke collection, New York, United States Maarit and Thomas H. Glocer collection, New York, United States Maxine Taupin collection, Beverly Hills, California, United States Nick Pritzker collection, San Francisco, California, United States Nina Rosenblum collection, New York, United States Royal Monceau collection, Paris, France Wilfried Heilbut collection, New York, United States William Carey collection, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States

References

1. At Home with Simon Chaput, a talk with the Aperture Foundation in New York and PAMM Museum Miami. https://aperture.org/events/at-home-with-the-aperture-community/

2. Solar Magazine, El Origen de Todo.

3. Billionaire Magazine,

4. artsy.net, This Five Star Hotel gives you Insider access ti the Art World. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-five-star-paris-hotel-insider-access-art?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sm-editorial-news&utm_content=tw-1-art-concierge-in-paris

5. Surface Magazine, Simon Chaput Reveals his photographs of India’s Ancient Sundials. https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/gallery-jantar-mantar-simon-chaput-surfacemag-nazraeli-press/

6. Numero Magazine, Union Sacrée https://simonchaput.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/numero-magazine-faena-miami/

7. Miami Beach Art Basel Magazine, Deco dreaming https://simonchaput.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/art-basel-miami-beach-magazine/

8. l’Officiel Levant, Simon Chaput, du Nu aux Nues

9. New York Butterfly, 5 Minutes with Simon Chaput https://nybutterfly.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/5-mn-with-simon-chaput/

10. Surface Magazine Gallery, El Blok Vieques https://simonchaput.wordpress.com/tag/el-blok-hotel/

11. Beaux Arts Magazine, L’art est partout au Royal Monceau.

12. L’Officiel, Les sept Merveilles de Barbara Bui

13. Air France magazine, A taste of Photography

14.Views, Baur au Lac magazine N.Y. Simon Chaput

15. An afternoon with Simon and Jennifer http://anafternoonwith.com/new/2010/09/08/simon-jennifer/comment-page-1/

16. VS magazine, Open your eyes.

17. Metropolitan Homes, Modern by Design

18. Go see Creative news Services, Simon Chaput: The visualization of the Female Form and the Movement of Water.

19. Gatsby Magazine, Simon Chaput New York State of Mind

20. Icon Magazine, Skin Deep

21. The Photographers Gallery, Great 51, Simon Chaput

22. Photo Magazine, Les Panoramiques de Simon Chaput

23. Photography in New York, Gallery 292, Howard Greenberg

24. Photo Magazine, Les Nus de Simon Chaput

25. Basler Magazin, Die keimfreie makellose und tote Natur

26. Schweitzer Illustrierte, sechs Galerien unter einem Dach

External links

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY USA https://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/simon-chaput

Jackson Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA USA https://www.jacksonfineart.com/artists/simon-chaput/

Gallery 51, Antwerp, Belgium https://www.gallery51.com/artist/simon-chaput/

Holden Luntz Gallery, Palm Beach, FL USA https://www.holdenluntz.com/artists/simon-chaput/

Nazraeli Press, Paso Robles, CA USA https://www.nazraeli.com/complete-catalogue/simon-chaput-jantar-mantar-special-edition?rq=simon%20chaput