Hervé Valez

Hervé Valez made my first exhibitions in Miramas (13), Istres and Martigues from 1978. In 1981 a group exhibition at the RIP in Arles. At the same time, he led photo training courses in Miramas and Martigues, then in 1983 photography became his profession.

After having traveled to Africa, Europe, France, and created his activity in Martigues, he finally, almost by chance, put his suitcases (and his camera bag) in the Cévennes. He discovers an exceptional region by its landscapes, its inhabitants, and its history. This is how, while traveling through the Cévennes mountains, he took many photos and a few films. Quite naturally, this leads to exhibitions in Anduze, Les Mages, Générargues, Nimes and Alès.

His research today focuses on restoring through images the impact of the feeling of what is offered to his gaze. The subjective eye prevails over the objective. The technique is transparent. Emotion counts and so does experience, but the spontaneity of the trigger is exacerbated to the point of destitution of reflection. He likes to discover his photos after the fact, like a kid who sees for the first time the image appear at the bottom of the bowl of developer under the red light of the laboratory.

To carry out for thirty years what he would describe as a "quest", he uses two apparently contradictory techniques which sometimes overlap and which make him carry out two photographic approaches simultaneously: On the one hand, a spontaneous photo (not hazardous), on the vivid, restored as it is without artifice or cropping as explained above and on the other a long reflection on the image, which is revealed during editing, pushing him to create shots like a raw material, a kind of clay that he kneads and then retouches until he obtains satisfaction.

Either way, the result is an alchemy that is more art than technique. The art of observing the world with passion and the art of digging into oneself to find an echo.

Discover contemporary artworks by Hervé Valez, browse recent artworks and buy online. Categories: contemporary french artists. Artistic domains: Photography. Account type: Artist , member since 2016 (Country of origin France). Buy Hervé Valez's latest works on Artmajeur: Discover great art by contemporary artist Hervé Valez. Browse artworks, buy original art or high end prints.

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