(b. June 21, 1929, La Ciotat, France; d. April 17, 2020, Marseille, France)
Gilbert Garcin was originally the owner of a lamp manufacturing company in Marseille, France. Following a workshop during the Rencontres Internationales in Arles, under the direction of Pascal Dolemieux, Garcin, at the age of 65, gave up his business and began his photographic career. In his photographs, Gilbert posed as an ordinary ‘Mr. Everybody,’ dressed with an old overcoat. By placing himself, via the character he embodies, in absurd and inextricable situations he invited us to ponder such philosophical quandaries as time, solitude and the weight of existence. His work raises a number of universal questions about the meaning of human existence.
Fifteen years later, he has published four books and has had numerous international exhibitions. Garcin’s work is in many private and public collections including: Fonds national pour l’art Contemporain, France; Fonds Communal pour l’art Contemporain de Marseille, Marseille; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; Artothèque de Veendam, the Netherlands; Artothèque de Nantes, Nantes; Artothèque de Vitré, Vitré; Médiathèque de Miramas, Miramas; Fondation Regards de Provence, Marseille; Galerie du Château d’Eau, Toulouse; and The West Collection; Philadelphia.
