Berenice Abbott: Photographs

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

The Ryerson Image Centre (Toronto) and the Jeu de Paume (Paris) have co-organized the exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs, the first retrospective of the American photographer, Berenice Abbott, presented in France and Canada. Curated by Dr. Gaëlle Morel, Ryerson Image Centre, Berenice Abbott: Photographs will be on view in Paris from February 20 to April 29, 2012, and the exhibition is being presented in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) from May 23 to August 19, 2012, in partnership with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival and the AGO.

Famous for her tireless fight for the recognition of French photographer Eugène Atget, Berenice Abbott is also prominently known for her documentary project Changing New York (1935-39). The exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs explores the different stages of Abbott's expansive career through more than 120 photographs. In order to provide a larger context for her œuvre, the exhibition will present her photographic prints alongside a series of never before exhibited personal documents - including letters, book mock-ups, drawings, magazines, and scrapbooks - and a collection of first edition books.

The Ryerson Image Centre and the Jeu de Paume have produced two editions (French and English) of a catalogue edited by Dr. Gaëlle Morel to accompany the exhibition. A catalogue launch event will take place Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5pm - 7pm at the Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1026 Queen Street West, Toronto. English catalogues also available for purchase at shopAGO.

The Conference

To accompany the exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs the Ryerson Image Centre and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival are pleased to present a one-day conference addressing the work of Berenice Abbott.

Saturday, May 26, 2012 1pm - 4:30pm
Ryerson University, Rogers Communication Centre,
80 Gould Street, Eaton Theatre, RCC-204 (Second Floor)
Free admission.

Participants include:
Doina Popescu, Director of the Ryerson Image Centre
Bonnie Rubenstein, Artistic Director, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
Ron Kurtz, Owner of Commerce Graphics
Dr. Gaëlle Morel, Curator at the Ryerson Image Centre
Dr. Sarah Miller, Terra Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar in American Art at the University of Chicago
Dr. Terri Weissman, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Sophie Hackett, Assistant Curator, Photography at the Art Gallery of Ontario and adjunct faculty in Ryerson University's Masters program in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management.

For more details, please visit ryerson.ca/ric