Thomas Boivin — Photographer
Titre du projet
2019 — 2022
Place de la République has long been a meeting point for the city's demands
and hopes. Since the nineteenth century it has been a stage for protests,
strikes, vigils and celebrations — a space where Paris shows itself to itself.
Today it remains a symbolic square for assembly and daily life, and a place
where young people come to spend time, talk, wait and watch.
Boivin's photographs form a quiet record of a generation growing up in a city
that is always shifting. His camera picks out the small details, fashion,
posture, gesture, that signal how young Parisians shape who they are and how
they want to be seen. Together the portraits reflect how youth finds its place
in the centre of the city: claiming space, crossing paths, marking out new
ideas of identity, gender and belonging in the open air of the square.
Books — Monographs
Place de la République
84 pages, 30×24 cm. Swiss bound, fibreboard cover, tip-on. ISBN 978-1-913288-84-6. Design Ramel/Luzoir
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Ménilmontant
220×150 mm. Laid OTA cover, tritone printing. ISBN 978-1-913288-61-7. Design Studio Plastac
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Belleville
100 pages, 275×225 mm. Flexibound, dust jacket. ISBN 978-1-913288-39-6. Design Ramel/Luzoir
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A Short Story
220×310 mm. 108 pages. 100 + 380 copies. Design Florent Pierre
"A short story. A love story. A dialogue. Love on the left bank meets Before sunrise. Playful, delightful, sad and heartfelt. Wonderful text and wonderful images work so wonderfully well in the cinematic lay-out." — Stefan Vanthuyne
Sold outPublications
La France sous leurs yeux
496 pages, 500 illustrations, 19 × 25,5 cm. ISBN 978-2-7177-2960-3
Publisher's websiteSAGA. A Photographic Journey from Lewis Baltz to Tarrah Krajnak
576 pages, 30 × 24 cm. Hardcover. English / French. ISBN 978-94-6478-103-8
Publisher's websitePortraits | Collection Florence et Damien Bachelot
128 pages, 26.7 × 21.7 × 2 cm
Publisher's websiteHotshoe Issue 213 — To be Young
Publisher's websiteAbout
Photographing mainly the north-east of Paris, in Paris as well as in the suburbs and working mainly in black & white, he pays particular attention to portraits and the human figure.
Faithful to a seemingly simple but demanding approach to photography, Thomas Boivin's work updates the image of classic Paris by focusing on the singularity of each face and each look. He published three books with Stanley/Barker and was awarded the Grande Commande Photojournalisme de la BNF and the CNAP 2024 documentary photography support. His work is featured in various collections such as the Neuflize OBC, Florence and Damien Bachelot, Paris Collection, le Château d'Eau, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and Fondation A. Stichting. Producing his own prints, he is represented in Paris by the Galerie Les Douches.
Interviews
- 2025Vision(s) #87 — Podcast, Aliocha Boi (FR)
- 2024About Photography — Martin Kaninsky, Ménilmontant book spotlight
- 2022Fondation A Stichting — Interview, exposition Belleville, Bruxelles
- 2020France Culture — Brassaï (1899–1984) : Au-delà de "Paris la nuit", intervenant
Press
- 2026L'Intervalle — Fabien Ribery (FR)
- 2026De Standaard (BE)
- 2025American Suburb X — Brad Feuerhelm (USA)
- 2024The Art Newspaper — Marc Donnadieu (FR)
- 2024De Standaard — Stefan Vanthuyne (BE)
- 2023The Guardian — Ménilmontant (UK)
- 2022The Guardian — Belleville (UK)
- 2022Blind Magazine — Brigitte Ollier (FR)
- 2022Aperture — Seb Emina (USA)
- 2022Creative Review — Diane Smyth (UK)
- 2022La Libre Belgique — Jean-Marc Bodson (BE)
- 2022The Washington Post — Kenneth Dickerman (USA)
- 2018Photo Saint Germain — Hélène Giannecchini, "Thomas Boivin, l'intensité discrète"
- 2017Aperture Photo Book Review 012 — Sarah Knelman (USA)
- 2016Conscientious Photo Magazine — Jörg M. Colberg (USA)
- 2016Colin Pantall's Blog — Colin Pantall (UK)
- 2016A Short Story — Gabriela Cendoya (ES)
Solo Exhibitions
- 2026Aurora Photo Center, Indianapolis — Place de la République
- 2024Terrace Square Photo Exhibition #32, Tokyo
- 2024Les Douches la Galerie, Paris — Ici, Belleville, République, Ménilmontant
- 2023Château d'Eau, Toulouse — Belleville
- 2023Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau, Arcueil — Belleville
- 2022Les Douches la Galerie, Paris — Fragments
- 2022Fondation A Stichting, Bruxelles — Belleville
- 2021Espace JB, Genève — Belleville
- 2018Photo Saint Germain, Paris
Group Exhibitions
- 2026Sungkok Art Museum, Séoul — Paris Unseen
- 2025Museo Risorgimento, Turin — Portraits, collection Bachelot
- 2025Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi — Collection Astrid Ullens
- 2025Les Douches la Galerie, Paris — Dans ma cuisine
- 2024Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris — La France sous leurs yeux
- 2024Zhuhai, Chine — Exposition internationale de l'Association des photographes chinois, hommage à la photographie française
- 2023Musée Réattu, Arles — Portraits, collection Florence et Damien Bachelot
- 2021Kunsthal Gent — Bioscopic Books. Artist's books as seen through the cinema-eye
- 2021NO Gallery, Anvers — Still lifes, avec Massao Mascaro et Stefan Vanthuyne
- 2018Hôtel de Ville de Paris — Photographier Paris, nouveaux regards sur la ville
- 2018Musée des Beaux-Arts, Mulhouse — Attractions, Biennale de photographie de Mulhouse
- 2017Seen Fifteen Gallery, Londres — Burning with Pleasure, Archipelago Books
- 2017Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Pantin — Jeune Création
- 2015Palais de Tokyo, Paris — 10 Visions of Paris
Awards
- 2024CNAP — Soutien à la Photographie Documentaire Contemporaine, Lauréat
- 2023BNF / Ministère de la Culture — Grande Commande Photojournalisme, Lauréat
Publications
- 2025Place de la République — Stanley/Barker
- 2025Hotshoe Issue 213 — To be Young (UK)
- 2024SAGA. A Photographic Journey from Lewis Baltz to Tarrah Krajnak — Ludion, Belgique
- 2024La France sous leurs yeux — Bibliothèque Nationale de France
- 2023Ménilmontant — Stanley/Barker
- 2023Portraits | Collection Florence et Damien Bachelot — Musée Réattu
- 2022Belleville — Stanley/Barker
- 2019Home P-11 — Homeparkpress, Allemagne
- 2015A Short Story — Auto-édité
Art Fairs
- 2024Paris Photo — Les Douches la Galerie
Collections
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
- Fond d'Art Contemporain — Paris Collection
- Collection Neuflize OBC
- Collection Florence et Damien Bachelot
- Fondation A Stichting, Bruxelles