Alec Soth, CANADA. 2005. Melissa, Flamingo Inn

Magnum Gallery Paris presents Alec Soth, an exhibition that features work reaching from Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), the artist’s first monograph, to his latest, I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating (2019).

Soth’s wide-ranging lyrical visions of the American heartland portray daily life within the framework of American ideals of individualism, freedom and spirituality. Of his most recent work he writes “I wanted to strip the medium down to its primary elements. Rather than trying to make some sort of epic narrative about America, I wanted to simply spend time looking at other people and, hopefully, briefly glimpse their interior life.”

Alec Soth, USA. New Orleans, LA. 2018. Leyla and Sabine

Alec Soth, USA. Green Island, Iowa. 2002. Ball of string / USA. Kentfield, CA. 2017. Anna

Alec Soth, USA. Memphis, Tennessee. 2000. Sunshine. Sleeping by the Mississippi

Alec Soth, CANADA. 2004. Two towels

Alec Soth, USA/CANADA. Niagara. 2005. Misty / CANADA. 2005. Cadillac Motel

Alec Soth, USA. Little Falls, Minnesota. 1999. Charles Lindbergh’s boyhood bed. Sleeping by the Mississippi

Alec Soth’s work is rooted in the distinctly American tradition of ‘on-the-road photography’ developed by Walker Evans, Robert Frank, and Stephen Shore. From Huckleberry Finn to Easy Rider there seems to be a uniquely American desire to travel and chronicle the adventures that consequently ensue. He has received fellowships from the McKnight, Bush, and Jerome Foundations and was the recipient of the 2003 Santa Fe Prize for Photography.

His photographs are represented in major public and private collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Walker Art Center. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial and a career survey at the Jeu de Paume in 2008.

Alec Soth, CANADA. 2005. Impala

Alec Soth, USA. Arkansas. Helena. 2002. Sleeping by the Mississippi

Alec Soth, USA. 2006

Alec Soth, USA. Iowa. Buena Vista. 2002. Sleeping by the Mississippi

Alec Soth, USA. 2008 / USA. 2008

Alec Soth, USA. Winona, Minnesota. 2002. Peter’s houseboat. Sleeping by the Mississippi

His first monograph, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published by Steidl in 2004 to critical acclaim. Since then Soth has published Niagra (Steidl, 2006), Fashion Magazine (Magnum, 2007), Dog Days, Bogotá (Steidl, 2007), The Last Days of W (Little Brown Mushroom, 2008), and Broken Manual (Steidl, 2010).

In 2008, Soth started his own publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom. He is represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York and the Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis. Alec Soth became a nominee of Magnum Photos in 2004 and a full member in 2008. He is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance.” –Alec Soth

Alec Soth
November 7, 2019 – January 24, 2020 / Magnum Gallery Paris
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