Born in Mulhouse, France in 1976, Lavoué worked as a timber engineer in the Amazon region of Brazil, only sporadically taking photographs. It was the pictures of Sebastião Salgado that inspired him to take up photography as a profession. In 2001 he took a course at the Centre Iris Photography School in Paris, after which he worked for the national and international press. His pictures have been shown in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad.
"I encountered the land of the Bigouden only a few days after meeting my partner, Catherine.
I was in my twenties, we had just decided to spend our life together and I had already had to go to Malaysia for several months. To seal our very young relationship, she decided to submit me to the "bigouden test", an initiation ceremony of a few days, at her grandparents' in Kérity.
From the first moment, I was literally bewitched. The smile of her grandmother welcoming us on the sidewalk, the blinding white light on the front of the house, the tray of steamed langoustines on the living room table ... then the strolls on the shore, the silhouette of the lighthouse, the stories of sailors lost at sea
Everything, my retina printed everything.
Twenty years later, here we are again at Kérity. With our two daughters.
After more than a decade of life in Paris, we are yearning for profound changes. We have considered everything: Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Montreal.
Finally, it was at Cap Caval, the southern tip of Finistère, that we decided to settle.
In Kerity, in the house of Catherine's grandparents.
Quickly, this small familiar territory provoked the long-awaited Copernican revolution. The end of Parisian commissions has enabled me to practice a more personal photography and our new environment becomes my main source of inspiration. It's about trying to express the emotions I can feel living here on the edge of the world.
I grope around, experiment with several photographic forms to escape the worn-out iconography of the seashores, boats and fishing nets. Luckily, I'm too sick at sea to photograph on board! So I stay at the quay and push the door of the hangars: auctions, shipyards, marine forges, canneries, coolers ... I discover the "On land " sector fed by the successive tides of trawlers, trolling boats and netters. Community. Manual work. Painfulness. The economic and social architecture of the territory.
And there are young people . Those who have not left "the country" but cling to it, viscerally. They intrigue me, I photograph them: the young self-employed fisherman, queen of the embroiderers, miller, fish-scaler, surfer ... why do they stay when the majority leave? They guide me on new paths and help me complete my "Bigoudene" mind map.
That's how The Black Months was born, a fictional photographic story, an intimate representation of the territory in which my "bigoudène" and I had decided to live."
70 writers, whether academicians or young novelists, following Leïla Slimani and Jean d'Ormesson, are featured in the pages of this book.
Gathered by Étienne de Montety for the 70th anniversary of the "Figaro Litéraire" that he manages, they play the literary game inherited from the surrealists and let themselves be photographed for the occasion by Stéphane Lavoué.
Photography has long played a crucial role in the art market, bridging fine art and contemporary culture while attracting a diverse range of collectors. With digital platforms reshaping how art is discovered, collected, and valued, Artsy has emerged as a key player in making photography more accessible.
In this exclusive interview, Casey Lesser, Artsy's Director of Content and Editorial, shares insights into the current photography market, emerging trends, and how digital tools are shaping the way collectors engage with the medium. From the growing demand for portraiture to the impact of price transparency, Lesser offers a behind-the-scenes look at the evolving landscape of photography collecting.
Currently on view at the Norton Museum of Art, certain silence marks artist Fabiola Menchelli’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States. Running through March 23, 2025, the show offers an immersive exploration of photography’s materiality, challenging conventional notions of perception and image-making.
Comprising more than 20 works—including previously unseen pieces—Menchelli’s ethereal compositions unfold through a meticulous process of folding, exposing, and developing light-sensitive materials. Created without a camera or negatives, her works blur the boundaries between control and chance, revealing intricate layers of abstraction and poetry. Through this interplay of light and form, certain silence invites viewers into a meditative space where perception itself becomes the subject of inquiry.
Art, Activism, Policy, and Power is an educational framework offering resources and opportunities for high school students to engage with artist-activists. The program focuses on various justice topics, utilizing the MoCP’s exhibitions, visiting artists, and collections as teaching tools. Students explore how artists incorporate research into their work to amplify urgent social issues, while also gaining insight into the power of the arts in advancing activism.
Jaume Llorens, born in Porqueres, near Girona, has been passionate about photography since his teenage years. Though he began exhibiting his work later in life, his artistic journey has quickly gained recognition on the international stage. His work is characterized by a deep, contemplative connection with nature, where silence and observation shape his artistic vision.
His poetic project Gaia, inspired by this reflective approach, earned him the December 2023 Solo Exhibition.
We asked him a few questions about his life and work.
Asiya Al Sharabi is a Yemeni-American visual artist whose work has been recognized both nationally and internationally. She began her career as a journalist and photographer before shifting her focus to artistic photography, using her lens to explore the complexities of identity, culture, and migration. Now based in the U.S., her work is deeply rooted in the experiences of Middle Eastern women, young adults, and immigrants—themes that continue to shape her creative vision.
Círculo Collective is a photography group dedicated to fostering unity and shared humanity during these challenging times. This exclusive collective brings together photographers from five countries: India, Tanzania, Iran, Brazil, and Poland.
In a world increasingly defined by division and conflict, the mission of Círculo Collective holds profound significance. Through their work, they seek to remind us of the connections that bind us and the power of community in overcoming adversity.
We reached out to them with a few questions to gain deeper insights into their project.
Manuela Federl is a journalist and documentary filmmaker with over 15 years of experience. She studied languages, economics, and cultural studies, focusing on the Mapuche people in Chile, which became the subject of her published thesis. In 2016, she founded her company, bergjournalisten, and has since created award-winning documentaries like 100 Hours of Lesbos and THE GAME. Gambling Between Life and Death. For the past two years, she has traveled extensively, documenting social issues through photography and storytelling. Her series The Roma Princesses earned her the January 2024 Solo Exhibition.
Black Box, a memoir by award-winning American photographer Dona Ann McAdams, combines fifty years of black and white photography with the photographer’s own short lyric texts she calls “ditties.” The book brings together McAdams’ striking historical images with personal reflections that read like prose-poems. Her photographs, taken between 1974 and 2024, document astonishing moments and people across decades of American life.
Grace Weston’s staged photography transforms miniature vignettes into powerful narratives that explore psychological themes with a playful yet profound touch. Her meticulously crafted scenes invite viewers to delve into stories of power, identity, and human complexity. Weston’s innovative work has earned international recognition, including winning the November 2023 Solo Exhibition. We asked her a few questions about her life and work.
