Frank Horvat, Laissez la vie se produire
Frank Horvat at Château La Coste: A Major Photography Exhibition in Provence
Château La Coste, a landmark venue for contemporary art in the south of France, is pleased to present Laisser la vie se produire, an exhibition dedicated to the work of photographer Frank Horvat, a major figure of 20th-century photography.
Borrowed from a phrase by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whom the artist deeply admired, the exhibition’s title resonates as an invitation to inhabit the world as it is. Throughout his career, Frank Horvat observed reality with rare freedom, allowing fleeting moments, moving bodies, and unexpected framings to emerge. His work continuously questions photography’s ability to suspend time while remaining open to chance and unpredictability.
Produced in close collaboration with the Frank Horvat Studio, the exhibition brings together 46 original prints spanning from the mid-1950s to the late 1980s. The exhibition journey crosses decades and genres: from the nocturnal streets of Pigalle to revolutionary fashion photography, from iconic black-and-white images of Paris, London, and New York to vibrant color series produced later in his career.
Horvat’s early black-and-white series made in Paris and London established him as one of the most influential photographers of his generation. His celebrated Paris by Night series offers an intimate view of postwar nightlife. Grainy, sometimes blurred, and marked by motion, these photographs—often taken with a 35 mm camera—reveal dancers, night owls, cafés, and bars in an atmosphere that is both sensual and melancholic. They also demonstrate the artist’s keen attention to the urban environment, where textures, light, typography, and architecture play a central role.
The exhibition also highlights Frank Horvat’s groundbreaking approach to fashion photography. Described as a “reportage style,” his work broke away from studio conventions by favoring real settings, natural gestures, and the energy of the street, while maintaining timeless elegance and glamour. This approach profoundly shaped the history of fashion photography and influenced generations of photographers.
Finally, the exhibition underscores Horvat’s enduring appetite for travel and observation—from an early photograph taken in Calcutta to later color images of New York. The use of telephoto lenses, unconventional viewpoints, and bold framing—often shot from above—imbues his work with striking modernity and rare psychological depth.
Presented at the heart of Château La Coste in Provence, these works bear witness to a body of work that is free, daring, and deeply human. Laisser la vie se produire invites visitors to a sensitive encounter with art and photography, at the crossroads of the present moment and the history of contemporary art.
