Entering the World of Guy Bourdin

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Charles Jourdan, Spring 1978
Charles Jourdan, Spring 1978Photography by Guy Bourdin, © The Guy Bourdin Estate, 2014, courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

We present four rarely seen shorts by legendary Parisian photographer Guy Bourdin

During his 40-year career, legendary Parisian photographer Guy Bourdin (b.1928) changed the face of fashion photography with his radically daring, utterly captivating images that oozed drama, sex and intrigue.

Now an exhibition at LA's forthcoming Paris Photo Fair offers a rare opportunity to see an expansive selection of Bourdin's works – from his early black and white shots of Paris and artist portraits, to his Polaroids, sketches, films, texts and iconic double-page spreads – tracing his ascent from experimental young photographer to visionary image-maker.

Here, ahead of the show, we present some of its key highlights including four rarely seen, typically surreal short films (primarily featuring girls in strange mise en scènes), a number of his iconic, vividly hued campaigns for shoe designer Charles Jourdan, and his highly fetishised series for the 1980 Pentax Calendar.

"Bourdin changed the face of fashion photography with his radically daring, utterly captivating images"

All films © The Guy Bourdin Estate, 2014, courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery. The exhibition will run from April 25-27 at Paris Photo, Paramount Pictures Studios, LA.