Johan van der Keuken: The Rhythm of Images

The exhibition features over a hundred vintage prints, from Dutch and French collections, in dialogue with a small selection of short films by Johan van der Keuken (1938–2001) spanning his entire oeuvre from 1955 to 2000. It includes original dummies of some of his best-known photographic books, which are being shown in France for the first time. A short programme of full-length films provides a deeper understanding of his life-long engagement with the image.

Throughout his life, van der Keuken studied movement and rhythm through photography and film. His photographic work was marked by the early days of direct cinema. His oeuvre highlights power structures and deconstructs habitual forms of visual language and narrative

Van der Keuken’s acute sense of observation and strong desire to represent a very direct, impulsive and sometimes violent contact with reality are characteristic aspects of the evolution in his work. His experimental, free style of editing is closely linked to the rhythm of music and sound, with contrasting fragments being juxtaposed to create a new visual language.