The annual Paris Photo exhibition has reaffirmed its prominence on the international photography scene, establishing itself not merely as an exhibition but as a space for critical reflection on the medium itself. The 2025 edition, held at the Grand Palais, reinforced this approach, emerging as an event that moves beyond purely commercial dynamics to help redefine them, fostering dialogue between generations, geographical contexts and diverse visual approaches.

An overall observation of the fair reveals a growing accent on relational dynamics, such as those between photographer and subject, image and context, archive and modernisation. The curatorial sections, together with the increasingly marked presence of thematic itineraries, suggest a propensity for conceptual exploration, going beyond simple exhibition. The festival is therefore shaped as a living system whose exploration, even virtual, allows us to engage with multiple visions, capable of generating meaning precisely through their comparison.

In a diverse artistic landscape, our team’s favourite works offer a striking insight into the edition. James Collins’ collage, ‘Watching Suzanne: Domestic Dialogue’ (1977, Estate of James Collins, Courtesy England & Co), traces a glimpse of daily life between two lovers within the domestic walls, suggesting the ambiguous nature of intimate relationships. András Ladocsi’s work reinterprets the tradition of representing the human body, a recurring subject in photography, emphasising a delicate and non-idealised balance. Zuzanna Janin and Donna Trope explore the theme of identity through juxtaposition and analysis, while photographers such as Koto Bolofo and Fred Herzog bring attention back to the relationship between the figure and the environmental setting.

The subtle atmospheres of Michele Bressan, the conceptual architecture of Aleix Plademunt’s volume and the narrative precision of Joel Sternfeld outline a variegated but balanced panorama, a brief overview of the multiple trajectories undertaken by photography over the course of this year.

Paris Photo 2025 offered fertile ground in which the image can expand and contract. At a time in history when the visual is everywhere, the festival has demonstrated once again that photography, in order to be truly contemporary, must continue to question its own boundaries.