Bernard Plossu. Catalan landscapes of Picasso

Bernard Plossu (born 27th February, 1945 in Da Lat, South Vietnam) is a French photographer, winner of the national photography award in France and of great international recognition. The most important part of his work is made up of travel reportages. Bernard Plossu uses the positive paper tirage quadrichromes au charbon Fresson technique, which "stains" the photographs. The particular texture and the subtle finish of this pigment process invented in the 19th century by the Fresson family, respond wonderfully to the sober approach of the photographer, determined to distance himself from the spectacular and the grandiose. In order to compose a kind of "photographic diary", Bernard Plossu has followed in the footsteps of Picasso in his journey through the Catalan places, spots that are currently considered pivotal in Pablo Picasso's artistic wealth. The exhibition brings together several photographs taken in Horta de Sant Joan, Gósol, Cadaqués and Barcelona, among others. Shortly before he died, the poet Bernard Noël sent this letter to the photographer:

« (...)What will you do by copying Picasso's imprint, capturing his visual imprint? This intrigues me a lot because it seems to me that you bring out its presence, which is never represented but called out. There are few who know how to grasp the appeal of the thing and not the thing itself. I don't like the too Christianised word "soul" but it is the one that designates it more precisely. Happy soul hunting.” (Bernard Noël, letter to Bernard Plossu,10th September, 2020).