Fernell Franco - Photographs London Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | Phillips

Photographs

London Auction 2 November 2017

  • Provenance

    Toluca Fine Art, Paris

  • Exhibited

    Fernell Franco, Cali clair-obscur, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, 6 February - 5 June 2016; Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, 27 July - 2 November 2016
    For this lot

  • Literature

    F. Fernell, Fotografías, Bogotá: Editográficas, 1983, n.p.
    Fernell Franco, Cali clair-obscur, Paris: Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, 2016, p. 77
    For this lot

  • Catalogue Essay

    Fernell Franco’s first major series Prostitutas (1970-72), comprised of 16 photographs of sex workers in brothels in Buenaventura, was first exhibited in March 1972 in his home town of Cali at Casa Cultural Ciudad Solar. Inspired by cinema, Franco was interested in expressing a narrative in his photographs, which he often achieved through experimentation as seen in the present work. This photomontage was created by exposing and mirroring the negative in the enlarger multiple times while moving the sheet of photographic paper.

    Fernell Franco, one of Latin America’s preeminent photographers, was a leading figure of the Cali Group (named after the city where he lived most his life). He first encountered the urban underbelly of Colombia as a teenager while working for a photographic studio as a bike messenger. He later pursued photography in the field of journalism then advertising before turning to his first series Prostitutas in 1970. Franco’s other projects include Interiores (1970s), Demoliciones (1970s-90s), Amarrados (1980-95), Billares (1985) and Retratos de ciudad (1990s). In 2016, a major retrospective of his work was shown at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris and Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City.

  • Artist Biography

    Fernell Franco

    Colombian • 1942 - 2006

    One of Latin America’s pre-eminent photographers, Fernell Franco was a leading figure of the Cali Group (named after the city where he lived most of his life). He first encountered the urban underbelly of Colombia as a teenager while working for a photographic studio as a bike messenger. He later pursued photography in journalism and in advertising before turning to his first series Prostitutas in 1970. In 2016, a major retrospective of his work was presented at Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris and Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City.

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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, FRANCE

2

Fernell Franco

Prostitutas

1970-1972
Gelatin silver print.
16.7 x 21.5 cm (6 5/8 x 8 1/2 in.)
Inventory number by Fundación Fernell Franco in ink on the verso.

Estimate
£7,000 - 9,000 

Sold for £8,750

Contact Specialist
Genevieve Janvrin
Co-Head of Photographs, Europe
+44 20 7901 7996

Yuka Yamaji
Co-Head of Photographs, Europe
+44 20 7318 4098

Photographs

London Auction 2 November 2017