I met Bruno Aveillan, the pho­tog­ra­pher, about ten years ago. It was dur­ing an aper­i­tif at the home of Jean-​Baptiste Danet, my best friend, who passed away a few days ago. I say Bruno the pho­tog­ra­pher because his pri­mary pro­fes­sion, his inter­na­tional fame, he owes to his career as a film director. 

A Peugeot break­ing through the sea, cre­at­ing feline waves, that’s him, an Indian palace ris­ing from the ground for Natalia Vodianova, that’s him too, com­mis­sioned by Guerlain. Bruno Aveillan directed a pan­ther leav­ing Place Vendôme and cross­ing a fan­tas­tic world in a 3.5‑minute adver­tis­ing clip for Cartier. At the time, this film, the most expen­sive in his­tory, was revealed in prime time on TF1 on a Sunday evening, between the news and the big weekly film. 

Then there was the sub­lime Arte doc­u­men­tary on Rodin’s cen­te­nary (“Les Portes de l’Enfer”), a mas­terly cre­ation by this ultra-​talented direc­tor, the most gifted of his gen­er­a­tion. The sculp­tor’s entire life in Bruno’s eye, a nar­ra­tive and tech­ni­cal feat. Try to find it! A few years ago, Bruno told me, “I’m reg­u­larly approached by Hollywood pro­duc­ers to direct fea­ture films, but a Hollywood film is two years of your life, and I can’t stay away from my clients for that long.” His films allow him to travel the world and offer him won­ders to pho­to­graph. His sec­ond pas­sion is pho­tog­ra­phy, which he treats with the same poetry and tech­ni­cal skill as his films.

His pho­to­graphic work is all about sug­ges­tion, imag­i­na­tion and artis­tic blur, allow­ing you to travel through an image that takes you to the other side of the world or your imag­i­na­tion, in a most engag­ing aesthetic.

In the “Vu de ma Fenêtre” exhi­bi­tion, we’re show­ing a few images from these jour­neys, as well as two com­pletely new series, “At the Edge of the Green Void” and “Complex Fluidity”. The for­mer is a pho­to­graphic inves­ti­ga­tion of flora, while the lat­ter explores the com­plex­i­ties of water. Splendid and environmental. 

Arnaud Adida Director