Streets

Charles Petit (1958–2022) began taking photographs at the age of sixteen, on the streets of Paris. As he traveled, he continued his wanderings through London, Milan, Vienna, Los Angeles, and Eastern Europe. Alongside his work as a photographer, he served as an art director, notably for Métal Hurlant, and later in advertising. This dual background fostered a graphic and instinctive perspective on the city. “Streets” is a declaration of love for street photography, of which Nadar was one of the pioneers. The images, selected from among several hundred photographs taken from the 1970s to the present, span several decades. As he wanders, Charles Petit transforms ordinary scenes into fragments of fiction. A silhouette, a gesture, a light become the elements of a possible story. His black-and-white shots, captured on the spot, sometimes evoke the films of John Cassavetes; his color photographs capture moments we wish could last forever.