Xavier Barral died suddenly on February 17.

A graphic artist, press photographer and artistic director of many magazines, in 1992 Xavier Barral founded Atalante, a graphic design agency.
At the same time, he worked with many publishers and wrote art books and exhibition catalogues.
In 2002, he created Les Éditions Xavier Barral, which publishes books about new forms of photography, contemporary art and science.

His association with the Rencontres d'Arles goes back a long way. He was the curator of two festival exhibitions: "Mars, a Photographic Exploration" in 2013 and "Martin Gusinde, the Spirit of Tierra del Fuego” in 2015.

He also published many catalogues of exhibitions on the festival’s program:
Depardon USA, 2018.
Kate Barry, 2017.
Mathieu Pernot, Les Gorgan, 2017.
Stephen Shore, 2014.
Martin Gusinde, L’Esprit des hommes de la Terre de Feu, 2015.
Thierry Bouët, Affaires privées, 2015.
Anouck Durand, Amitié Éternelle, 2014.
Transition, Paysages d'une société, 2013.
Sergio Larrain, 2013.

In 2013, he received the Author’s Book Award for Antoine d’Agata, Anticorps.

We are saddened at his passing and will miss his immense talent.

The entire Rencontres d'Arles team pays him tribute and extends its deepest sympathy to his loved ones.


photo: Patrick Gries