“From birth onwards we are confronted with the inexorable passing of time.

I love photography as it succeeds in suspending and freezing time.”

Simon de Pury

Leica Gallery London is proud to present a distinctive group of photographic works taken by Simon de Pury, one of the most legendary and leading figures in the art world. Internationally known for his performance on the auction podium he is renowned for his deep and longstanding knowledge of the global marketplace and for his love of art in all genres, shapes, forms and centuries. As well as an Auctioneer and Art Dealer he is also a photographer and DJ.

Surprisingly, this will be the first time de Pury has shown his own work in London. In the last two decades he has exhibited in Geneva (Art + Public Gallery), Art Basel, Berlin (The Corner), Paris (Colette) and Moscow (Multimedia Art Museum).

Leica Gallery’s exhibition brings together 11 works which dial-down on everyday life - zooming in with his keen and ravenous eye, de Pury dissects details that we otherwise miss. In doing so he gives the most ordinary and mundane a new magical existence and one that commands the viewer’s attention. Through scale and perhaps the unique perception which made him so able to spot new talent and be hugely instrumental in championing the careers of many contemporary artists, photographers and designers, we are presented with something both desirable, seductive and fresh. Just like Irving Penn and his study of cigarette butts which lead to their elevation as premium objects– de Pury elevates these segments of his discoveries to high art.

Earlier in his career, Simon de Pury was Owner, Chairman and Chief Auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company, before that he was Chairman Europe and Chief Auctioneer Worldwide at Sotheby’s. He was also curator of the Thyssen–Bornemisza Collection, the world’s largest private collection at the time, that today is housed in its own museum in Madrid.

He was the subject of an hour-long documentary on the BBC, titled The Man with the Golden Gavel. He was also the mentor in Bravo’s reality TV show‚ Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. 

As an active charity auctioneer over the years de Pury has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for a number of charities and cultural institutions. These organizations include amfAR, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Guggenheim Museum, New Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles, Fondation Beyeler, Human Rights Watch, and Elton John Aids Foundation, among many others.

All works in the exhibition are unique, 1/1 and are for sale exclusively with Leica Gallery London.

All prints copyright Simon De Pury. For more information please contact gallery.london@leica-camera.com.