Dave Heath's First European Retrospective at Le Bal

Le Bal in Paris presents 'Dave Heath. Dialogues with Solitudes', the first European exhibition dedicated to the overlooked American photographer (1931-2016). The show centers on the original maquette for Heath's seminal 1965 book 'A Dialogue with Solitude', displayed as framed double-page spreads. Heath, abandoned at age four, turned to photography in the late 1940s after being moved by a Life magazine photo-essay. His sequenced images, paired with literary quotes, explore solitude and emotional resonance. The exhibition also features 175 vintage prints from the 1950s and 1960s, including Korean War scenes and street photography that contrasts with the contemporaneous 'aesthetics of emergence' practiced by Lee Friedlander and Garry Winogrand. Heath's portraits capture subjects in isolated, introspective moments, while empty urban views evoke postwar American unease. Three experimental films—'Portrait of Jason' (Shirley Clarke, 1966), 'Salesman' (Maysles brothers and Zwerin, 1968), and 'The Savage Eye' (Maddow, Meyers, Strick, 1960)—complement the theme of modern alienation. Heath's technique, influenced by Eugene W. Smith and Robert Frank's sequencing in 'The Americans', involved darkening prints and selective highlighting. The exhibition runs from September 14 to December 23, 2018.