CHAUMONT-PHOTO-SUR-LOIRE 2024
16th November, 2024 – 23 Feburary, 2025
Chaumont-sur-Loire estate
41150 Chaumont-sur-Loire
A different view of nature, through the eye of the photographer, is on offer at Chaumont-Photo-sur-Loire. This 7th edition showcases five artists who, through their love of nature, have become both witnesses and magicians. Their work ranges from exploring the world to reveal the wounds inflicted by human activity, blotting out urban features, erasing the colors of life to create pictorial representations, or transforming landscapes into mysterious and captivating horizons. Each artist captures a fleeting moment, choosing to share it with us.
Every year, Chaumont-Photo-sur-Loire draws attention to the precious yet fragile quality of nature. This year’s edition highlights the urgent need for a global awakening to the terrifying dangers facing our planet. At the same time, it presents images that invite joyful contemplation, reflecting a firm conviction that the world needs peace and beauty. Striking a balance between these two objectives is essential.
© Jens Liebchen
In the Château’s Upper Galleries, Edward Burtynsky presents a major series of photos taken in Africa. While many perceive the continent as unspoiled, Burtynsky’s work reveals how endangered it truly is. With spectacular views marked by faultless aesthetic quality, the Canadian photographer confronts us with perilous ecological realities, capturing the consequences of human overreach with stunning precision.
Also in the Château, Laurent Millet shares his immersive experience of the Indonesian rainforest. Awed by its profusion, density, and verticality—and struck by the simultaneous embrace and rejection of the environment—Millet presents lush, intricate visions inspired by Eastern brocades and fabrics.
In the Porcupine Gallery, Letizia Le Fur takes us on a different journey, presenting images of Tahiti that are unparalleled. She strips landscapes of their vibrant colors—the turquoise of the lagoon, the green of lush forests, and the red of hibiscus flowers—to create a surreal world that floats between dreams and fiction.
In the Lower East Wing Gallery, Nicolas Bruant brings the subtleties of light and shadow to the forefront. Forsaking color, he goes beyond what is ordinarily visible to craft a new visual reality. Known for photographing strangers encountered by chance, Bruant here unveils a surprising side of nature, visible only through his lens.
© Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Image courtesy Flowers Gallery.
Meanwhile, in the Donkey Stables, Jens Liebchen presents spellbinding snowy landscapes that appear devoid of human activity. On closer inspection, however, delicate details emerge—trees illuminated like actors on a stage, subtly outlined by light. These images evoke Japanese pictorial traditions while offering insights into the society that shaped them.
At the intersection of these five perspectives lie two shared elements: time and silence. The time spent traveling and working in the studio, and the silence of observation and creation, combine to produce singular insights into a natural world that is precious yet all too often ignored. To observe is to love, to grow aware, and to respect the infinite beauty that surrounds us.
CHAUMONT-PHOTO-SUR-LOIRE 2024 opens on the 16th of November, 2024 until the 23rd Feburary, 2025 at Chaumont-sur-Loire estate
©2024 Chaumont-sur-Loire estate
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