Mulas: La Photographie

With some sixty black-and-white vintage prints, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson presents in Paris Ugo Mulas’ work and reflections about the art of his time.

Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli

Ugo Mulas (1928-1973) was a major figure of twentieth century Italian photography. Nevertheless, his work remains little known in France.

This solo exhibition at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson is the first of its kind and pays homage to this great observer and interpreter of the novelty that appeared in the art world in Italy and in the United States in the 1960s. It brings together, for the most part, the photographs selected by Mulas for publication in La Fotografia (Einaudi, 1973), his last, now mythical, book, an essential testimony of his work and his reflections.

**Top**: Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli. **Above**: View of the exhibition at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Photo credit Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris

When he arrived in Milan in 1948, Ugo Mulas associated with the artistic and literary circles that gathered at Bar Jamaica and he quickly began to photograph the city. Turned professional photographer, he developed more personal projects simultaneously. Official photographer of the Venice Biennale beginning in 1954, he documented the Italian and New York art scene of the 1960s. From 1968 onwards, he devoted himself to the Verifications, his last project, which questions photography and its practices. With a title that is both simple and ambitious, La Photographie is a unique work.

Through brief sequences of images introduced by text, Mulas analyzed the art of his time and made portraits of artists with whom he associated while creating their work as an intimate relationship with time. For Mulas, all moments are fleeting, they are all worthy, and the least significant moment can be in fact the most exceptional. Besides its documentary value, this group of work has a strong autobiographical tone. This selection closes with the Verifications, the final seminal chapter, which will forever establish the speculative dimension of his work.

View of the exhibition at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Photo credit Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris

View of the exhibition at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Photo credit Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris

View of the exhibition at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. Photo credit Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris

Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli.

Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli.

Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli.

Photo credit Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano | Courtesy Archivio Ugo Mulas, Milano e Galleria Lia Rumma Milano, Napoli.

until April 24, 2016
Ugo Mulas
in collaboration with the Ugo Mulas Archives (Milan) and Giuliano Sergio
co-produced with the Point du Jour
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
2, impasse Lebouis, Paris

Mulas: La Photographie

With some sixty black-and-white vintage prints, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson presents in Paris Ugo Mulas’ work and reflections about the art of his time.

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