Journey Into a Mysterious World

“Life is a farce, the skill is in proving it,” Richard Kalvar once wrote. For over five decades, the American-turned-French photographer has been traveling the world photographing the strange and slightly surreal aspects of human life. This November, he was awarded the International Award of Photography by the Centro di Ricerca e Archiviazione della Fotografia (the CRAF) in Italy for his lifetime contribution to the world of photography.

Accompanying the award is an exhibition, titled Viaggio in un mondo fantastico (“Journey Into a Mysterious World,”) which takes place at the Palazzo Tadea in the town of Spilimbergo, north of Venice. More than 80 works from Kalvar’s vast archive line the walls of the historic building, forming a powerful retrospective of his career to date. Many of the images are from his series Earthlings, and viewers may draw similarities between this show and the major retrospective at the Maison Européenee de le Photographie in Paris in 2007. But 15 years later, and Kalvar has continued to expand his ever-growing archive, with several newer photographs joining the curation: “I had to update the selection with about 60% of the images from Earthlings, and the rest are either new or new/old. At this rate, I am looking forward to having a new exhibition in about 15 years,” he explains to L’oeil de la photographie.

“The exhibition is not only a tribute to Kalvar’s mastery but also an opportunity for each of us to immerse ourselves in a visual dimension that challenges our own perceptions,” writes Mario Anzil, Vice President adn Councillor for Culture and Sports in the Friuili-Venezia Giulia region. “We are prompted to look beyond the surface, explore the evocative power of images, engage with our emotions, and find personal meaning in each shot.”

Accompanying the exhibition is a series of three essays written around the 80 photographs on view. Michele Smargiassi revisits one image in particular, and the moment that Kalvar made the shot:

“The lady, with her hands on her hips, particularly impatient, faces herself head-on with her own reflection, nose touching nose, abundant breasts pushing against mirrored breasts. Kalvar removes the transparency so you can’t tell it’s a shop window; Kalvar removes the transparency, and it has become an encounter with the Self, a self-referential recognition, a moment of psychic mirroring.

“Click. ‘I wanted to isolate this woman as she shamelessly looked at and touched a stranger who was, in fact, herself, giving the impression that she wanted to verify the resemblance.’ Then Kalvar takes another shot; although he knows he already has the photo he wants, he takes another shot anyway because he is a great professional; he acknowledges that the work must be done and that he shouldn’t miss out on any other opportunities; however, he realizes that they are ‘mere aftershocks after the great earthquake.’”

For Enrico Sarcinelli, Mayor of the City of Spilimbergo, the power of Kalvar’s approach lies in his ability to frame reality in a way that is likely invisible to most of us, concealed in the “continuous flow of life.” It is, according to the Mayor, Kalvar’s eye that manages to rend even the most mundane into something compelling — demonstrating a rare ability to evoke strong emotions of surprise or joy, confusion or questioning. It is a photography of the absurd, in sorts. 

“This approach places him in a truly unique realm of the global photography scene, which Kalvar has navigated with remarkable elegance and ease for over half a century, continuously gifting us with visual surprises and teaching us to view reality, which is too often harsh and painful, with the intelligence of irony,” Sarcinelli concludes. 

Visit “Journey Into a Mysterious World” at the Palazzo Tadea in Spilimbergo, Italy until January 26, 2025.