François
Fontaine

François Fontaine

BIOGRAPHY

French photographe born in 1968, distributed by Agence VU’ since 2008 and member since 2019, lives in Paris (France)

As an art history PhD, curator and editor-in chief for press magazines, François Fontaine early develops a special interest in travels and photography. From 1998 to 2002 he settles down in Madrid where he asserts his own photographic style and anchors his practice in a truly professional dimension.

Inspired by his encounters and long terms journeys – especially in Far East where he initially followed the footsteps of his father who used to be a naval officer – François Fontaine, transposes  “the reality of what is perceived in a symphony of colors and sensations, where poetry and reverie dominate“. Made by intuitions, by feelings, but also by pictorial and cinematographic recollections, his body of work invites in some timeless, chromatic and dreamlike journeys.

In 2012 Les Editions de l’Oeil published “Silenzio !” his photo essay on cinema and what it conveys : memory, dream, fantasy… Among numerous exhibitions, this works is presented within the framework of Leica centenary.

In 2015 his second monographic book is published by Editions Filigranes. “Rêve d’orient” gathers three works made between 2005 and 2008 (“Transsiberian“, “Lost in China” and “Japanese Whispers“) and unveils a dateless and poetic vision of Asia.
In 2018, he resumed his reflection on cinema with his series “Icones” which pays tribute to the greatest female and male stars of the 7th art and is published by Éditions La Pionnière.

Frequently exhibited in France and abroad, running for prestigious prizes (Leica Oskar Barnack or Niépce prizes among others), his works are part of renowned collections such as those of Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Hermès Fondation, Fnac galleries, Leica Camera, Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau, Institut Lumière or Guangdong Art Museum.

In 2021, the photographer publishes “Pulsions” with Éditions La Pionnière in which he explores the power of images to awaken desire and passion.

In 2024, with “Eden”, he produced a series on nature in Japan.

SEries

Eden, 2024

Série | For two months, François Fontaine traveled through Japan from South to North, following the spring blossoms of the land.

Illusion, 2022

Series | This series is a reflection on painting and photography. Two arts that echo each other by the symbolic, emotional and aesthetic dimension they convey.

Cabaret, 2021

Série | « Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret! »

Impulses, 2021

series | This series is a reflection on visual pleasure. On the power of images to awaken desire and passion.

Icônes, 2018

Serie | An icon is an image, an object of contemplation, an unequaled model. It is the archetype, the primitive and ideal near perfection model according to the ideas of Plato

Witness, 2017

Series | It is a photographic essay on the representation of contemporary wars through the media in which I analyze the impact of news footage and the violence they convey...

American Dreams, 2016

American Dreams plunges the viewer in the history of America over the 60's. It is an immersion in the American Dream: with its glamorous icons, its Californian surfers, the conquest of space and its hippie aspirations.

Cosmos, 2016

Series | « We dream of a journey through the universe. But is the universe then not in us? » Novalis Novalis

California Dream, 2016

Serie | California Dream is an invitation to travel in the mythical world of the Californian surfers from the 60's.

Supernature, 2015

Serie | Supernature is an imaginary safari which pays tribute to the forces of nature, its beauty and its poetry.

Silenzio!, 2012

This a photographic essay on the cinema, on cinematographic images. A work in which movie stills are extracted from their initial medium and diverted from their original context.

The Holy Hour, 2010

In autumn of 2010 I travelled to India to photograph the pilgrims of one of the world's most ancient religions : Hinduism. From dawn to dusk, when light blends with the elements, I went to meet these followers, focusing my work on their gestures.

The Ghost Ship, 2010

Serie | The last mission of French helicopter-carrier “Jeanne d'Arc” (2009-2010)

Rêve d'Orient, 2008

Series | Rêve d’Orient (Dream of the Orient) combines three series which were produced in the Far East between 2005 and 2008: Trans­-Siberian, Lost in China and Japanese Whispers.

Les Christs de Salvador, 2004

In Salvador de Bahia the Carnival was in full swing when I decided to seek refuge in the quiet and inspiring holy sites offered by the city.

Night's Flowers, 2001

Series | This portrait series of transsexual people was realised in the street of Madrid in the summer of 2001. During several months, I followed a mobile unit of Médicos del Mundo in its night help and attention to prostitutes of Madrid’s program.

Eden, 2024

Série | For two months, François Fontaine traveled through Japan from South to North, following the spring blossoms of the land.

Illusion, 2022

Series | This series is a reflection on painting and photography. Two arts that echo each other by the symbolic, emotional and aesthetic dimension they convey.

Cabaret, 2021

Série | « Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret! »

Impulses, 2021

series | This series is a reflection on visual pleasure. On the power of images to awaken desire and passion.

Icônes, 2018

Serie | An icon is an image, an object of contemplation, an unequaled model. It is the archetype, the primitive and ideal near perfection model according to the ideas of Plato

Witness, 2017

Series | It is a photographic essay on the representation of contemporary wars through the media in which I analyze the impact of news footage and the violence they convey...

American Dreams, 2016

American Dreams plunges the viewer in the history of America over the 60's. It is an immersion in the American Dream: with its glamorous icons, its Californian surfers, the conquest of space and its hippie aspirations.

Cosmos, 2016

Series | « We dream of a journey through the universe. But is the universe then not in us? » Novalis Novalis

California Dream, 2016

Serie | California Dream is an invitation to travel in the mythical world of the Californian surfers from the 60's.

Supernature, 2015

Serie | Supernature is an imaginary safari which pays tribute to the forces of nature, its beauty and its poetry.

Silenzio!, 2012

This a photographic essay on the cinema, on cinematographic images. A work in which movie stills are extracted from their initial medium and diverted from their original context.

The Holy Hour, 2010

In autumn of 2010 I travelled to India to photograph the pilgrims of one of the world's most ancient religions : Hinduism. From dawn to dusk, when light blends with the elements, I went to meet these followers, focusing my work on their gestures.

The Ghost Ship, 2010

Serie | The last mission of French helicopter-carrier “Jeanne d'Arc” (2009-2010)

Rêve d'Orient, 2008

Series | Rêve d’Orient (Dream of the Orient) combines three series which were produced in the Far East between 2005 and 2008: Trans­-Siberian, Lost in China and Japanese Whispers.

Les Christs de Salvador, 2004

In Salvador de Bahia the Carnival was in full swing when I decided to seek refuge in the quiet and inspiring holy sites offered by the city.

Night's Flowers, 2001

Series | This portrait series of transsexual people was realised in the street of Madrid in the summer of 2001. During several months, I followed a mobile unit of Médicos del Mundo in its night help and attention to prostitutes of Madrid’s program.

Eden, 2024

Série | For two months, François Fontaine traveled through Japan from South to North, following the spring blossoms of the land.

Illusion, 2022

Series | This series is a reflection on painting and photography. Two arts that echo each other by the symbolic, emotional and aesthetic dimension they convey.

Cabaret, 2021

Série | « Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret! »

Impulses, 2021

series | This series is a reflection on visual pleasure. On the power of images to awaken desire and passion.

Icônes, 2018

Serie | An icon is an image, an object of contemplation, an unequaled model. It is the archetype, the primitive and ideal near perfection model according to the ideas of Plato

Witness, 2017

Series | It is a photographic essay on the representation of contemporary wars through the media in which I analyze the impact of news footage and the violence they convey...

American Dreams, 2016

American Dreams plunges the viewer in the history of America over the 60's. It is an immersion in the American Dream: with its glamorous icons, its Californian surfers, the conquest of space and its hippie aspirations.

Cosmos, 2016

Series | « We dream of a journey through the universe. But is the universe then not in us? » Novalis Novalis

California Dream, 2016

Serie | California Dream is an invitation to travel in the mythical world of the Californian surfers from the 60's.

Supernature, 2015

Serie | Supernature is an imaginary safari which pays tribute to the forces of nature, its beauty and its poetry.

Silenzio!, 2012

This a photographic essay on the cinema, on cinematographic images. A work in which movie stills are extracted from their initial medium and diverted from their original context.

The Holy Hour, 2010

In autumn of 2010 I travelled to India to photograph the pilgrims of one of the world's most ancient religions : Hinduism. From dawn to dusk, when light blends with the elements, I went to meet these followers, focusing my work on their gestures.

The Ghost Ship, 2010

Serie | The last mission of French helicopter-carrier “Jeanne d'Arc” (2009-2010)

Rêve d'Orient, 2008

Series | Rêve d’Orient (Dream of the Orient) combines three series which were produced in the Far East between 2005 and 2008: Trans­-Siberian, Lost in China and Japanese Whispers.

Les Christs de Salvador, 2004

In Salvador de Bahia the Carnival was in full swing when I decided to seek refuge in the quiet and inspiring holy sites offered by the city.

Night's Flowers, 2001

Series | This portrait series of transsexual people was realised in the street of Madrid in the summer of 2001. During several months, I followed a mobile unit of Médicos del Mundo in its night help and attention to prostitutes of Madrid’s program.

Interviews

Inside : François Fontaine
Hans Lucas studio
—
2016

Hans Lucas and Findspire studio have joined forces to produce a series entitled “Inside”, on the occasion of the Rencontres d’Arles 2015. The aim of this production was to use the largest French event around photography as a pretext and to conduct about sixty interviews with personalities from the world of photography. Today, we continue the diffusion with François Fontaine, photographer.

François Fontaine – Silenzio !
The Leica Camera blog
—
Interview directed by the Leica Internet team, 2014

On the occasion of the exhibition of his “Silenzio!” series at the Leica space during the famous Paris Photo fair at the Grand Palais, he discusses the origin and elaboration of this work, which is both a tribute to cinema and a focus on memory.

Listen

EXHIBITIONS

Supernature
—
Galerie Leica, Paris
—
From June 29 to August 26, 2023

More information

Icônes
—
Cinéma du Panthéon, 75005 Paris (FRANCE)
—
From October 16 2019 to Summer 2021

More information

Supernature
—
LES PHOTAUMNALES, Beauvais (FRANCE)
—
From September 28 2019 to January 5 2020

More information

Rêve d’Orient
—
La Maison de la Chine – 75006 Paris (FRANCE)
—
From April 10 to June 17 2017

More information

BOOKS

Pulsions

La Pionnière - 2021

Icônes

La pionnière - 2018

Rêve d'orient

Filigranes Éditions - 2015

Silenzio !

Les éditions de l’œil - 2012

Les Fleurs de la nuit

Les éditions de l’œil - 2003

Pulsions

La Pionnière - 2021

Icônes

La pionnière - 2018

Rêve d'orient

Filigranes Éditions - 2015

Silenzio !

Les éditions de l’œil - 2012

Les Fleurs de la nuit

Les éditions de l’œil - 2003

Pulsions

La Pionnière - 2021

Icônes

La pionnière - 2018

Rêve d'orient

Filigranes Éditions - 2015

Silenzio !

Les éditions de l’œil - 2012

Les Fleurs de la nuit

Les éditions de l’œil - 2003