Pierre Gonnord is a significant figure in the world of contemporary photography. Specialists, armed with more sophisticated words than ours, say of him that "he photographs as if he were painting." For us, the team at FotoFabrika, Pierre Gonnord has become a fellow thinker and close friend since his first participation in the festival with the exhibition Different Me in 2013.

The astonishing mastery with which he photographs his characters, appearing as if they've stepped out of an album of Renaissance paintings, when in fact they come from the lowest levels of the social backyard, was the same mastery with which he interacted with the world around him and the people who crossed his path. He had the ability to see when someone shines in a different light and to capture exactly that in his photographs.

Pierre Gonnord departed from this world at the end of April 2024, leaving behind an exceptional visual legacy. In his honor, FotoFabrika is showcasing in a special exhibition four original diptychs, gifted to the festival by the author, which the Bulgarian audience hasn't seen yet.

Pierre Gonnord (1963 – 2024) was born in France. Since 1988, he lived in Madrid. At the beginning of his professional journey, he was involved in marketing and communications, but he realized that photography was his calling. Gonnord is known for his photographic portraits depicting marginal characters, reminiscent of the paintings of the old masters.

‍