Jeff Cowen, P217, Diptych, 158 x 127 cm each, Silver Gelatin Print, 

2020-2023, Edition of 1

WILLAS contemporary is delighted to announce Provence Work by Jeff Cowen, a solo presentation at Paris Photo. Featuring several works being shown for the first time, this exhibition also marks the debut of Provence Work in France.

Paris Photo, the leading international fair dedicated to photography and image-based art returns to the Grand Palais for its 28th edition. This year, the fair will be bringing together 183 galleries and 41 publishers from 33 countries, with 61 who are participating for the first time. WILLAS contemporary will debut at Paris Photo this year as the sole representative from the Nordic region.

Jeff Cowen, P201, Wendy, Diptych, 175 x 127 cm each, Silver Gelatin Print, 

2020-2023, Edition of 1

About Provence Works

EN   

Jeff Cowen’s Provence Works project is a mystical meditation on nature, history, and the human spirit—where ordinary subjects become profound, almost otherworldly experiences. Each work is a one-of-a-kind, handmade analogue silver-gelatin photograph, enriched by his 40-year darkroom practice, that includes painting and collage. Provence Works, awarded a Pollock Krasner Grant, was hosted in 2024 by the Huis Marseille Museum for Photography in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where Cowen’s images were presented alongside Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings. A monograph published by Walther König accompanied the exhibitions. Cowen’s work transformed the blinding clarity of the Provençal sun, the azure blue skies, and the striking terrain into a realm of confrontation and transcendence. The works echo the past but resist nostalgia. They remind us of what we stand to lose—and what we might still preserve. Provence Works transcends Provence. It invites us to see, feel, and perhaps act differently. In this sense, Provence Works returns us to something primal and essential: the art does not merely depict the world—it reawakens us to it.  

FR  

Le projet Provence Works de Jeff Cowen est une méditation mystique sur la nature, l’histoire et l’esprit humain—où les sujets ordinaires deviennent des expériences profondes, presque surnaturelles. Chaque oeuvre est une photographie argentique unique, faite à la main, enrichie par ses 40 ans de pratique en chambre noire, incluant peinture et collage. Provence Works, lauréat d’une bourse Pollock-Krasner, a été présenté en 2024 au Musée Huis Marseille pour la Photographie, en collaboration avec le Musée Van Gogh à Amsterdam, où les images de Cowen étaient exposées aux côtés des peintures et dessins de Van Gogh. Un ouvrage publié par Walther König accompagnait les expositions. Cowen a transformé la clarté aveuglante du soleil provençal, les ciels azur et les paysages saisissants en un royaume de confrontation et de transcendance. Ces oeuvres résonnent du passé sans céder à la nostalgie. Provence Works transcende la Provence. Il nous invite à voir, ressentir, et peut-être agir autrement. Il nous ramène à quelque chose de primitif et d’essentiel : cet art ne se contente pas de représenter le monde—il nous y réveille.   

Jeff Cowen, P101, 107 x 82 cm, Silver Gelatin Print, Mixed Media, 

2020-2023, Edition of 1

OPENING HOURS - PARIS PHOTO

Collectors Circle & VIPs (By invitation only)

Vernissage: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 11am-9pm

Public Days

Thursday, November 13, 2025, 1pm-8pm
Friday, November 14, 2025, 1pm-8pm
Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1pm-8pm
Sunday, November 16, 2025, 1pm-7pm

(Open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for Collectors Circle members and VIP - with the exception of the vernissage)

WILLAS contemporary – Booth D50

Grand Palais 3 avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008 Paris France