Like her pictures, Sacha’s career reads like a fairytale. Born in Rotterdam in the ’40’s, Sacha Van Dorssen studied Fine Arts before starting an internship in Paris in 1963. There she met Peter Knapp who hired her to work for Elle magazine. Both Peter and Elle suggested that she sign her pictures “Sacha”. Since then, her signature has appeared regularly in some of the world’s greatest fashion magazines, books and advertising. It is this professional trail that Chêne books and the exhibition at the Dutch Institute of Paris are presenting, while the Sit Down gallery is exposing the photographer’s intimate side. A new perspective on a photographer who spent her career fleeing convention. The magical encounters that led to these exhibitions and the book are all part of her ongoing fairytale. A long stpory that began with Peter Knapp completing work on a book with Gabriel Bauret to whom he spoke about Sasha. He was immediately seduced, and spent many years preparing this exhibition for which he would become curator. More than two years were required to reduce a half century of work into 65 prints, projections and a facsimile newsstand presenting a wide variety of her major fashion publications. Although impossible to list them all, she worked at Elle until Peter Knapp’s departure, then from 1977 to 1999 worked with Marie-Claire and foreign magazines including Sunday Time Magazine, Stern, Harper’s Bazaar and French magazines Le jardin des Modes or Vogue. She shot such top models as Inès de la Fressange, Claudia Schiffer, Grace Jones and …Sarah Moon. Her pictures highlighted the vigor and eclecticism of French creation through such young and confirmed talents as Kenzo, Jean-Paul Gauthier, “Comme des Garçons” or Christian Lacroix. She also worked on advertising campaigns for major labels including Dim, Yves Saint Laurent, Vuitton or Hermès. And for the Éditions du Regard for whom she began a prestigious collection for Mario Fortuny in Venice, Dior or Old England. It is through these works that Gabriel Bauret articuled his exhibition at the Dutch Institute. In the basement are sections of portraits, various assignments, a room for “Elle” and one for “Marie-Claire”. The medium sized prints are big to Sasha compared to the magazine formats she was accustomed to for decades. Traditional prints made from the negatives and digital files used by the photographer over several decades were printed on ordinary paper by Jean-François Bressol for the exhibition’s partner, Dupon laboratories. Also on exhibit are Sacha’s sketchbooks revealing the artist’s approach and the multitude of minute details required for seemingly simple and natural shots. Large format prints on fabric are on display upstairs. Magazine covers and pages are transformed into giant posters that literally envelope visitors. A diametrically opposed exhibition is under way at the Sit Down gallery.
Françoise Bornstein chose to present Sacha’s intimate world through miniature prints. Delicate and elegant, her personality emerges through a series of pictures as if a Chinese portrait. As for the book, it is a reference not only about Sasha but about the evolution of fashion.

BernardPerrine@Le-Photographe.net
Correspondant for the French Institute

Sacha Fashion photographer

Until 20 march 2011
Institut Néerlandais
121 rue de Lille
75007 Paris
+33 (0)1 53 59 12 40
info@institut néerlandais.com
Every day except Monday fr 1pm to 6pm.

“Si c’était…” Sacha, a Chinese portrait
From January 29 to March 19, 2011
Galerie Sit Down
4 rue Sainte-Anastase
75003 Paris
+33 (0)1 42 78 08 07