Romain Thiery
(other sizes available)
Printed on fine art paper hahnemühle photo rag (mate art paper)
mounted on aluminium dibond and framed with oak (US) frame.
Romain Thiery, born in 1988, is a French photographer and amateur pianist. Fascinated by Chopin, Satie and Bach, he decided to link his two passions in a single project. Romain Thiery has embarked on a photographic work in search of forgotten pianos. He believes that the piano is deeply rooted in the depths of our culture, and he sought to explore the instrument from an original angle. Since 2014, he has discovered over a hundred abandoned pianos around the world. Scenes from which he never changes anything, leaving the place as it is. This research has taken him to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, as well as the United States. The series resulting from his work is entitled “Requiem pour Pianos” and has raised its notoriety internationally.
Beyond his photographic work, Romain records in situ, when possible, note by note, the sounds of the pianos he discovers. They will allow him to build a collection of virtual instruments that he will make available to the public online and during his exhibitions. This method allows him to create a realistic sound model, immortalize the sound of these pianos and capture their identities. These sample libraries will give a second life to abandoned and sometimes hard-to-reach pianos, giving hundreds of musicians around the world the opportunity to make them sound.
In recent years, he has won major international photography awards in various competitions. His solo and group exhibitions have been seen in North America, Europe and Asia. His photographs have been exhibited in galleries and festivals in New York, San Francisco, Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul, Paris, Madrid, Tel Aviv and many others.
The most prestigious press titles have already praised or covered his work in their pages such as El Pais, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Lonely Planet, Cultura Inquieta, Point de Vue, Esquire, Beijing news … and, in TV reports on M6 (France), DW (Germany), Channel Cuatro (Spain), TV5 Monde (France) and I24 News (France and Israel)
ARTISTIC PROCESS
What remains of their finery ? Blown away marble, disemboweled fireplaces, torn hangings…
Faced with Romain Thiery’s lens, these great houses have lost their glory. However, lurking in the shadows, astonishing wood and cast iron monsters with lacquered skin display their toothless smiles with ivory reflections. These pianos are the soul of the place, too heavy objects to be moved that the photographer unceasingly tracks down « even in the middle of a ruined space, the piano never ceases to preserve its power. He is there, he thrones with all his nobility. » The production of this series doesn’t leave anything to chance. It offers Romain Thiery the privilege of combining two passions, image and music. Amateur pianist fulfilled by Chopin, Bach, Beethoven or Satie, he also observes his mother, a photographer, exploring the heritage of Périgord.
In 2008, it was love at first sight. On the heights of Périgueux, a mother and son discovered a small 19th century castle. « Everything was destroyed, empty », remembers the man who was only 20 years old. « The place had been looted. Looting is often the second step after desertion. Situations often related to inheritance issues that leave things outstanding. On the first floor I discovered a piano, in the middle of a destroyed room. The fireplace was broken. Valuables and treasure had already disappeared. There was only this piano left. I thought there must be more. »
Romain Thiery holds the idea. He sets out on a quest to find these silent giants. He spent five years patiently establishing his network across Europe into various sections including music, real estate, heritage and associations.
His dedication paid off. Since 2014, he has discovered more than a hundred pianos, in as many places of stunning beauty. His routine is now settled. He slips into these ballrooms, mansions, manors or castles while it is still dark, to capture the morning light, which spreads softness in sleeping spaces. « I stay for a while to catch the right light, the one that will best highlight the instrument. Then I try at least to play on the keyboards, to make them resonate when possible », to make those Steinway, Pleyel, Bechstein or Erard vibrate one last time lying in varying states of dilapidation.
Then he notes the piano’s serial number, if it exists. Because Romain put his unique expertise at the service of the Musique & Spoliations association, founded by Pascale Bernheim and Corinne Hershkovitch, which has set itself the task of finding the instruments looted by Sonderstab Music, the « Commando Musique », created in August 1940 in France by the Nazi regime. The precious information collected is passed on to the association, which crosses its references with its archives so as to piece together the history of the instrument.
For the past few years, Romain has been recording in situ, whenever possible, note by note, all the sounds of the pianos he discovers.
These recordings will be used to build a collection of virtual instruments that he will make available to the public online and at his exhibitions. This method allows him to create a realistic sound model, to immortalise the sound of these pianos and to capture their identities. These sample libraries will give a second life to abandoned and sometimes hard-to-reach pianos, giving hundreds of musicians around the world the opportunity to make them sound.
EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION
2023 Galerie JouveBrown, Uzès – France
2023 Salon international de l’Art Contemporain (SIAC), Avignon – France
2023 Bel Air Fine Art Gallery – Switzerland
2022 St Petersburg State Museum of Music, St Petersbourg – Russia
2022 Galerie House of Lucie, Budapest – Hungary
2022 Lausanne Palace, Lausanne – Switzerland
2022 Galerie Le Réservoir, Sète – France
2022 Congress Centrum, Mannheim – Germany
2021 Salle Gaveau, Paris – France
2021 Galerie ArtsV12, Angers – France
2021 Musée Fragonard, Maison Alfort – France
2021 Galerie Le Carreau, Cergy – France
2021 Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis – USA
2020 Galerie Renoma,Paris – France
2020 Sartorio Museum, Trieste – Italy
2020 Nox Gallery, Tel-Aviv – Israel
2019 De Doelen Concert Hall, Rotterdam – Netherlands
2019 ARTMUSA Museum of Contemporary Art, St Petersbourg – Russia
2019 State Art Gallery, Hyderabad -India
2019 Moscow Photocenter, Moscow – Russia
2019 Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles – USA
2019 Klangmanufactur Steinway & sons, Hamburg – Germany
2019 Galerie PITA, Bourges, France
2018 Israel International Photography Festival, Tel-aviv – Israel
2018 Galerie Graine de Photographe – Paris
2018 OnOff Galerie – Paris
2018 Das Deggigner Gallery, Regensburg, Germany
2018 Abalone Gallery, Trondheim – Norway
2018 BokehBokeh Gallery, San Fransisco, USA
2018 Light Time Space Gallery, Jupiter, USA
2018 Bowery Poetry Club, New-York, USA
2017 Galerie 30, Paris, France
2017 Fotofever, Paris, France
2017 Alverton Gallery, Penhance, UK
2017 ArsEra Foundation, New-York, USA
- October 17, 2023
