Bigaignon is a contemporary art gallery based in Paris, active for almost ten years in the international promotion of artists who investigate the fundamentals of light, space, and time through practices linked to minimalism, abstraction, and conceptual photography.
“I have always awaited the moment when photography would meet rhinoceros. And that moment has come in the best possible way, with the opening in Rome of a gallery that offers a sophisticated artistic exploration. Under the sign of light, we inaugurate our collaboration with Bigaignon, bringing to rhinoceros artists who explore the very essence of this theme through different means of expression. Their works, built upon light, blur the boundaries between artistic languages.” Alessia Caruso Fendi
Light, the foundation of all creation, has always been one of the most sought-after and explored themes in art history. In photography in particular, it is inseparable from the medium itself — which takes form precisely through and thanks to it. The exhibition brings together 25 works, including photographs, paintings, sculptures, and installations by 15 artists represented by the Parisian gallery.
Among the artists featured, Thomas Paquet presents three works, including a monumental installation in dialogue with the pieces currently on display at PM23, the foundation of Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti in Rome. Italian photographer Renato D’Agostin proposes an installation of 15 silver gelatin prints that delicately and poetically portray the transformations of light in the urban landscape, while Portuguese visual artist Fernando Marante explores the interaction between light and movement.
An intriguing dialogue also emerges between the works of Hungarian artist Máté Dobokay and those of American painter James Howell, to whom the Parrish Museum in New York is simultaneously dedicating a retrospective.
Chris McCaw, renowned for his works created with sunlight, presents a previously unseen triptych. More subtle and intimate approaches to the theme of light are also present: from the ethereal portrait by Rossella Bellusci to the minimalist works of Anne-Camille Allueva, Anne Blanchet and Rachelle Bussières as well as the wall sculptures of Mireille Fulpius. An original dialogue is also established between the photographs of French artist Yannig Hedel and those of Elyn Zimmerman, one of the key figures of the Light & Space movement that emerged in the 1970s.
The works of Rachelle Bussières integrate scientific observation with intuitive experience, employing the analog lumen printing process. Concluding the exhibition path is Ralph Gibson’s iconic photograph The Priest, a powerful epilogue to this first act, on view from September 19 to November 18, 2025.
In parallel, Bigaignon will also curate a space on the first floor of Palazzo Rhinoceros through March 2026, presenting a large immersive installation by Olivier Ratsi. The work serves as a synthesis of the three exhibitions scheduled at Rhinoceros, embodying the three key elements that the French gallery has chosen to explore during its Roman residency: light, time, and space.
