From January 17 to April 17, 2025, the Oana Ivan gallery, which has just opened in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, is presenting around fifteen creations by photographer and graphic designer Peter Knapp.

The dashing ninety-three-year-old artist was present at the opening on January 14, during which he presented fashion photos as well as recent creations, collages scanned then printed using the "inkjet" process on canvas.
So what photographs did our eye rest on? We immediately think of the one of an unrecognizable Fran&ccedil;oise Fabian, masked by a sort of veil over her face (1967). We were also seduced by a work representing Azzedine Ala&iuml;a and the model Marcy Hunt (1982) for the German magazine Stern . The first is facing, the second is from behind, and the difference in size between the two is reinforced. In a monograph by Gabriel Bauret, we can read the instructions that the photographer had left to Stern for publication: "Softer to see the contact. Keep the grain in the clear parts". A phrase that we leave to the reader's exegesis. It illustrates that, for Peter Knapp , a fashion photograph is a link in a magazine, a part of a coherent whole.

Marcy Hunt and Azzedine Alaïa photographed by Peter Knapp for Stern magazine, 1982

The Swiss artist studied graphic design and photography in Zurich , where he was influenced by the Bauhaus and the work of Mies van der Rohe. He then began a career as a graphic designer in Paris in the 1950s. Peter Knapp was then in charge of composing posters for Galeries Lafayette and created logos for the biggest names, Disques Barclay, Nouvelle Revue Fran&ccedil;aise, and ELLE magazine. H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Lazareff appointed him artistic director of the women's magazine in 1959. He first worked there as a graphic designer, where he was noted for his iconoclasm, preferring diagonals to right angles, which were much more fashionable at the time. He liked texts to be presented in three columns, a way of "evoking the three official languages of Switzerland," he said. He then earned his stripes as a photographer and left ELLE in 1966, at the same time as H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Lazareff. Peter Knapp then worked for newspapers such as Vogue and the Sunday Times. While he followed the collections of Courr&egrave;ges and Ala&iuml;a, he left for Zeit Magazin in the Afghan steppes in 1970 and published a book on Osaka the same year.

Peter Knapp photographed by Sarah Moon

We had the chance to meet him. &quot;I&#39;ve already worked for you,&quot; he told us. He explains. In 1953, Georges Jalou, then head of L&#39;OFFICIEL , asked him to make sketches of intent to inspire photographers lacking ideas. It was a first step for him in the world of fashion: &quot;the boss was quite liberal. He told me that there were too many static fashion photos. I added movement to them.&quot; After these fascinating digressions, the photographer theorizes his entire work in a jumble. His use of black and white? It was for technical reasons, most of the photos in magazines were in black and white. A problem arose: we did not know what color gray was in real life. Really gray? Blue? Red? That is how he proposed a solution. For a black and white photo, black and white clothes. He convinced the creators. And black and white then took on its full meaning.

Blue Lake, 2024 and The Grass, 2024

His recent pictorial creations? A way for him to break away from "applied photography" , that is to say fashion photography, in favor of an art of which he is the sole creator: "I make collages, then we do a scan and we print on inkjet on canvas. I wanted to find color again after all these blacks and whites."
These two works dated 2024 are the only touches of color in the gallery, which only uses black and white in its architecture.
The architect Eugenio Rebuzzi, present on the occasion of this inaugural day, explains that he created such a sober setting "to highlight the works" and "to fade into the background a little". This is the first art gallery designed by the latter, who usually works for major fashion houses such as Herm&egrave;s, Dior, Fendi and Prada .

Blue Lake, 2024

While Peter Knapp is photographed from all sides, and wanders among the guests, we finally meet Oana Ivan . Former editor-in-chief of the confidential American magazine Frame, which she describes as a &quot;coffee table book&quot; , her meeting with Peter Knapp was born of a &quot;love at first sight&quot; which fully justified the fact that the gallery&#39;s first exhibition put him in the spotlight. In addition, she explains to us that if she settled in Paris, it is because there are &quot;few photo galleries&quot; there and says she chose the eighth arrondissement for its proximity to the capital&#39;s grand hotels. Photography and fashion enthusiasts will be able to discover the Peter Knapp exhibition until spring at the <a href="https://www.galleryoanaivan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oana Ivan gallery</a> , 93 rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Peter Knapp, inaugural exhibition at the Oana Ivan gallery

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