Between East and West > Acclaimed French photographer Marc Riboud > at The Empty Quarter, Dubai > January 14- February 13

Marc Riboud captures a street scene of Beijing, China in 1965 © Marc Riboud

From January 13 to February 13, Riboud's sheer brilliance in capturing human experiences will be showcased at The Empty Quarter. For more than 60 years, Marc Riboud has engaged generations of contemporary photography lovers with his powerful compositions about life and his intimate captures during his world travels. Over the next one month, The Empty Quarter will display 27 of his finest photographs spanning six decades of Riboud's career. 

The latest exhibition is entitled Between East & West and is focused on Riboud's captures on the western borders of the Orient (Morocco) and the eastern borders (China).

Children smile innocently into Marc Riboud's camera in this 1971 scene of Fez, Morocco © Marc Riboud

 Speaking about the exhibition, Princess Reem, Owner of The Empty Quarter, said, We are honoured to host one of the earliest legends of the photography medium, especially immediately after the recent successful exhibition of the renowned Steve McCurry. By hosting Marc Riboud, we are offering photography lovers in the UAE the fantastic opportunity of witnessing and owning his remarkable yet timeless creations.  

Shanghai, China in 2002 © Marc Riboud

About The Artist

Born in Lyon in 1923, Riboud put aside his career as an engineer to pursue his love for photography. After moving to Paris in 1951, he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and David Seymour, founders of Magnum Photos. In less than two years, he became a member of Magnum till 1979 when he resigned. His ability to capture fleeting moments in life through powerful compositions was already apparent, and this skill was to serve him well for decades to come. 

Since 1955, Riboud has traveled around the world. In 1957, he was one of the first European photographers to venture into China. His photography on China were extensively published while The Three Banners of China was one of the first books focusing on the Maoist period. In the Sixties, he documented the African independence movements and also went to Vietnam (North and South), photographing both sides and showing the human suffering inflicted on the Vietnamese people.

One of Riboud's best known images is the Eiffel Tower Painter, taken in Paris in 1953 and his first publication in Life magazine. It depicts a man painting the tower, posed like a dancer, perched between the metal armature of the tower. Below him, Paris emerges out of the photographic haze. 

Riboud's photographs have appeared in numerous magazines, including Look, National Geographic, Paris Match and Stern. He twice won the Overseas Press Club Award, and has had major retrospective exhibitions at the Musee Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the International Center of Photography in New York. 

During the exhibition at The Empty Quarter, Marc Riboud's recently launched book Into the Orient, showing in five small books his first journey to the East from 1955 to 1958, when he drove from Istanbul to Calcutta, and then headed to China and Japan, will also be available for sale.