Snooping is encouraged at 'Visite Privée' exhibition by Francois Halard

The world is already familiar with the brilliant works of figures like Coco Chanel, David Hockney and Lenny Kravitz, but not many will know their personal lives — particularly, their homes. French photographer Francois Halard, 62, has made it...

Italian painter Giorgio Morandi's atelier, taken by Francois Halard [PIKNIC]

The world is already familiar with the brilliant works of figures like Coco Chanel, David Hockney and Lenny Kravitz, but not many will know their personal lives — particularly, their homes.

French photographer Francois Halard, 62, has made it his lifelong mission to capture these intimate spaces. For the very first time in Korea, he is holding a retrospective at the exhibition center Piknic in Jung District, central Seoul.

Titled “Visite Privée,” which is French for “Private Visit,” the exhibition’s name is the same as one of Halard’s photograph collections he released nine years ago.

Francois Halard [PIKNIC]

The mansion of Yves Saint Laurent and his lover Pierre Berge, taken by Francois Halard in 1984 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

From the living rooms of Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs to the extraordinary scenery of the La Cupola primal dome structure in northern Sardinia and the Eleousa village in southeastern Greece, some 200 pieces of Halard’s photography prove to be a window to each of the backgrounds.

The idea to bring Halard’s works to Korea came from a previous show at Piknic, director Kim Bum-sang said, while preparing for the retrospective of the late American photographer Saul Leiter (1923-2013) in 2021. Kim had come upon Halard’s photographs of Leiter’s vacated apartment after his death and became mesmerized, prompting Kim to write to Halard.

A 2015 photograph of Saul Leiter's New York apartment after his death, taken by Francois Halard [SHIN MIN-HEE]

“Looking into it, I realized that half of the spaces photographed were already known to the public and the other half weren’t, and it was very special to be able to look into the hidden aspects,” Kim said. “Halard’s works fit with how people are interested in space nowadays, especially when there are unique stories behind them.”

American painter Cy Twombly (1928-2011) should be mentioned when it comes to understanding Halard’s dedication to photography. Halard had always considered Twombly as his role model, and it took him all of 15 years to finally get two days to take pictures of Twombly’s home.

He took detailed and intricate pictures of Twombly’s personal space, capturing his porcelains, his workspace full of paints, Louis XV’s chair and his bathroom.

During lockdown back in 2020, Halard spent a significant period of time in his home in Arles, France, which was unusual for him as he traveled frequently prior to the pandemic. Unable to visit other areas, he took the time to instead take photos of his own house. These polaroid images would later fill his book, “56 Days in Arles” (2021).

A polaroid image from Francois Halard's ″56 Days in Arles″ (2021) [SHIN MIN-HEE]

To quote Halard: “I try to find traces of the artist in the space left behind after his death. It’s like ‘soul hunting.’ It is my own way of remembering, interpreting and prolonging the lives of people I admire.”

“Visite Privée par Francois Halard” continues until July 30. Tickets are 18,000 won ($14) for adults. Piknic is open every day except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is a five-minute walk from Hoehyeon Station, line No. 4.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]