Paolo Roversi

Along the Way

On View
Sep 12 – Oct 25, 2025
New York
 
 
Installation view of Along the Way by Paolo Roversi
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Installation view of Along the Way by Paolo Roversi
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Installation view of Along the Way by Paolo Roversi
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Installation view of Along the Way by Paolo Roversi
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Pace is pleased to present an exhibition of work by photographer Paolo Roversi at its 508 West 25th Street gallery in New York. Opening on September 12, during New York Fashion Week, and running through October 25, this focused retrospective will feature works produced by Roversi between the early 1990s and the present, highlighting the artist’s relationships with his many collaborators in the fashion industry.

Roversi’s upcoming exhibition with Pace in New York—his first solo show with the gallery since 2019—will present an overview of his storied career through a selection of photographs created over the past 35 years.“Every portrait is a meeting, an exchange, a mutual intimate confession,” Roversi has said of his work. The show will shed light on Roversi’s legacy as the artist behind some of the most iconic fashion images of our time.

Drawing inspiration from the work of August Sander, Robert Frank, and Diane Arbus, Roversi developed a distinctive style that is deeply influenced by the Byzantine architecture and rich cultural history of his birthplace, Ravenna, Italy. “Paolo's photography is timeless,” Sylvie Lécallier, curator Roversi’s 2024 exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris, said in an interview last year. “It is detached from the spirit of the times, from the ephemeral trends of fashion. It is located both at the heart of fashion and at the edge.”

Made with Polaroid film and mostly taken in his Parisian studio, Roversi's dreamlike, enigmatic images are imbued with a classical sensibility. His studio, he has said, “is a place for the chance, the dream, the imaginary to prevail. I give these forces as much space as I can.”

In addition to his collaborators in the fashion world, Roversi has recently joined forces with his friend and fellow artist Sheila Hicks. For these works, which will figure in Pace’s exhibition, no discussion is had between the two artists regarding a direction for the final work, each knowing and respecting the other’s practice.

Born in Ravenna, Italy in 1947, Roversi discovered his passion for photography during a 1964 family holiday in Spain— upon his return from the trip, he built a darkroom in the basement of his home. He began his career in 1970, taking photojournalism assignments from the Associated Press. In 1973, at the invitation of photographer and ELLE art director Peter Knapp, Roversi moved to Paris, where he has lived and worked ever since. After a nine-month period assisting British photographer Lawrence Sackmann, whom he cites as an influential teacher, Roversi started shooting independently with small commissions for ELLE and the band Depeche Mode, gaining wider recognition with a Dior beauty campaign in 1980 and ultimately forging his reputation as one of the industry's leading photographers by the mid- 1980s. As model Guinevere van Seenus, who has worked with Roversi for nearly three decades, has said, “Having your portrait taken is more than just looking at the camera, [Paolo] creates the space for the person to [emerge]."

Today, Roversi’s work can be found in museum collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Getty Museum in Los Angeles; and the National Portrait Gallery in London. He has had major exhibitions around the world—in recent years, at the Museo d'Arte della città di Ravenna, Palazzo Reale in Milan, the Palais Galliera in Paris, the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow, and Dallas Contemporary in Texas—and has published numerous books, including Paolo Roversi: Palais Galliera (2024), Lettres sur la lumière (Gallimard, 2024), Des Oiseaux (Éditions Xavier Barral, 2023), Paolo Roversi – Studio Luce (Museo d'Arte della città di Ravenna, 2020), Natalia (Stromboli, 2018), and Nudi (Stromboli, 1999).

[Roversi’s work] doesn’t trade in uncomplicated directness or immediacy: Its point is to capture you with its beauty, and then let that beauty haunt your mind.

Mark Holgate, (opens in a new window) Vogue
 
Pace Playlists

Studio Luce Musica

Italian-born, Paris-based photographer Paolo Roversi’s mixtape reflects the dreamlike, enigmatic quality his iconic photographs encapsulate. Featuring songs that resonate personally for Roversi, Studio Luce Musica includes legendary artists like Dean Martin, Lucio Dalla, and Mina—a nostalgic journey through classic Italian and Neapolitan music.

(opens in a new window) Listen Now

 

Featured Works

Paolo Roversi,
Light, Paris, Studio rue des Martyrs,
2002
March 22nd, 2002, carbon print, 29-15/16" × 20-1/16" (76 cm × 51 cm), image 35-3/8" × 29-1/8" (89.9 cm × 74 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Sihana, Paris,
2023
2023, c-print on Fujiflex paper mounted to Dibond, 39-3/8" × 27-15/16" (100 cm × 71 cm), image 43-5/16" × 31-7/8" (110 cm × 81 cm), paper 45-1/4" × 33-13/16" (114.9 cm × 85.9 cm), mount
Paolo Roversi,
Leon, Studio Luce, Paris
September 19th, 2024, carbon print, 29-15/16" × 20-1/16" (76 cm × 51 cm), image 35-1/2" × 25-1/2" (90.2 cm × 64.8 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Emeline, Paris,
2024
2024, c-print on Fujiflex paper, 3-9/16" × 4-3/4" (9 cm × 12.1 cm), image 5-1/8" × 7-1/16" (13 cm × 17.9 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Sanija, Paris,
2024
2024, c-print on Fujiflex paper, 3-9/16" × 4-3/4" (9 cm × 12.1 cm), image 5-1/8" × 7-1/16" (13 cm × 17.9 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Kate, New York,
1993
1993, carbon print, 22-5/16" × 17-15/16" (56.7 cm × 45.6 cm), image 28-7/8" × 24-1/8" (73.3 cm × 61.3 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Audrey for Dior, Studio Luce, Paris,
2016
February 2nd, 2016, carbon print, 29-3/4" × 19-3/4" (75.6 cm × 50.2 cm), image 38-1/8" × 28-1/8" (96.8 cm × 71.4 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Anna for Comme des Garcons, Limo Aioyama Studio, Tokyo,
2016
December 12th, 2016, c-print on Fujiflex paper mounted to Dibond, 39-3/8" × 31-5/16" (100 cm × 79.5 cm), image 43-5/16" × 34-1/4" (110 cm × 87 cm), paper 45-1/4" × 36-3/16" (114.9 cm × 91.9 cm), mount
Paolo Roversi,
Natalia, Studio Luce, Paris
June 22nd, 2009, carbon print, 29-15/16" × 20-1/16" (76 cm × 51 cm), image 35-3/8" × 29" (89.9 cm × 73.7 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Guinevere for "Blood & Roses", Studio Luce, Paris,
2017
January 5th, 2017, c-print on Fujiflex paper mounted to Dibond, 39-3/8" × 30-1/4" (100 cm × 76.8 cm), images 43-5/16" × 34-1/4" (110 cm × 87 cm), paper 45-1/4" × 36-3/16" (114.9 cm × 91.9 cm), mount
Paolo Roversi,
Kirsten, Paris,
1990
1990, c-print on Fujiflex paper, 19-11/16" × 15-3/4" (50 cm × 40 cm), image 23-5/8" × 19-11/16" (60 cm × 50 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Roos for Dior, Studio Luce, Paris,
2017
May 17th, 2017, carbon print, 29-7/16" × 22-1/4" (74.8 cm × 56.5 cm), image 35-5/8" × 28-1/8" (90.5 cm × 71.4 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Tess McMillan, Paris
2020, pigment print mounted to Dibond, 39-5/16" × 59-1/8" (99.9 cm × 150.2 cm), image 43-3/8" × 63-1/8" (110.2 cm × 160.3 cm), paper 46-3/16" × 65-15/16" (117.3 cm × 167.5 cm), mount
Paolo Roversi,
Anna Maria for Comme des Garçons, Studio Luce, Paris,
2011
October 6th, 2011, pigment print, 27-9/16" × 20-11/16" (70 cm × 52.5 cm), image 31-9/16" × 24-11/16" (80.2 cm × 62.7 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Audrey, Paris
1996, c-print on Fujiflex paper mounted to Dibond, 39-3/8" × 30-11/16" (100 cm × 77.9 cm), image 43-1/4" × 34-5/8" (109.9 cm × 87.9 cm), paper 45-1/4" × 36-5/8" (114.9 cm × 93 cm), mount
Paolo Roversi,
Jerome, Studio Luce, Paris,
2005
December 5th, 2005, carbon Piezo print, 19-11/16" × 15-7/16" (50 cm × 39.2 cm), image 23-9/16" × 19-5/16" (59.8 cm × 49.1 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Jérôme, Paris,
2005
2005, carbon Piezo print, 19-11/16" × 15-9/16" (50 cm × 39.5 cm), image 23-5/8" × 19-1/2" (60 cm × 49.5 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Hawk, Paris,
2020
2020, carbon print, 30" × 23-1/2" (76.2 cm × 59.7 cm), image 36-1/4" × 29" (92.1 cm × 73.7 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Natalia, Studio Luce, Paris,
2003
November 23rd, 2003, carbon print, 22-3/16" × 17-11/16" (56.4 cm × 44.9 cm), image 28-3/16" × 23-5/16" (71.6 cm × 59.2 cm), paper
Paolo Roversi,
Sara Grace, Paris,
1986
2018, c-print on Fujiflex paper, 29-15/16" × 22-3/4" (76 cm × 57.8 cm), image 38-3/16" × 30-3/4" (97 cm × 78.1 cm), paper
Roversi, Paolo/Hicks, Sheila,
(no title),
2023
Paris, 2023, pigment print on baryta paper with applied natural fibers, wood, 7-1/2" × 6-5/16" × 2" (19.1 cm × 16 cm × 5.1 cm), overall
Roversi, Paolo/Hicks, Sheila,
(no title),
2023
Paris, 2023, pigment print on baryta paper with applied natural fibers, wood, 11-13/16" × 9-7/16" × 1-9/16" (30 cm × 24 cm × 4 cm), overall
 
Portrait of Paolo Roversi

© Paolo Roversi

About the Artist

Paolo Roversi’s passion for photography emerged on a 1964 family holiday in Spain, prompting his construction of a basement darkroom upon his return home. His professional career began in 1970 with photojournalism assignments for the Associated Press. Following an invitation to Paris from ELLE Magazine’s legendary art director Peter Knapp in 1973, however, Roversi’s focus soon shifted to fashion. After a nine-month period assisting British photographer Lawrence Sackmann, whom he credits as an influential teacher, Roversi started shooting independently with small commissions for ELLE and Depeche Mode, gaining wider recognition with a Dior beauty campaign in 1980, and ultimately forging his reputation as one of the industry's leading photographers by the mid-1980s.

Learn More
 
EXHIBITION DETAILS

Paolo Roversi
Along the Way
Sep 12 – Oct 25, 2025

GALLERY

508 West 25th Street
New York

PRESS

Press Release

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(opens in a new window) @roversi
(opens in a new window) @pacegallery

 

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