Ithaque presents Heure de pointe, an exhibition bringing together two series devoted to Paris, mostly photographed at Place de Clichy and Porte de Champerret. Produced during the springs of 2025 and 2026, these photographs observe the city at moments of greatest intensity, when bicycles, scooters, cars and passers-by converge to form a constantly shifting urban landscape.
The prints presented were produced in Ithaque’s laboratories as part of Mark Steinmetz’s 2026 residency, supported by the Les Amis d’Ithaque charity.
PLACE DE CLICHY
Place de Clichy occupies a singular place in the history of Paris. Long associated with artists and writers, it has been depicted by painters such as Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, while Henry Miller referred to it in his writings. Late in the day, when many streets have already fallen into darkness, the square remains illuminated, animated by a diverse flow of people crossing or lingering in its light.
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Place de Clichy (October 2025) #4
2025
Archival silver gelatin print, 37 × 25 cm, framed
Edition 1/7
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Place de Clichy (October 2025) #5
2025
Archival silver gelatin print, 37 × 25 cm, framed
Edition 1/7
PORTE DE CHAMPERRET
At Porte de Champerret, Steinmetz observes another part of the city through the movement of those who cross it. Bicycles, scooters and pedestrians appear within the flow of everyday life, their presence inseparable from the urban space around them. More than portraits, these photographs are studies of people situated within a living context, where faces meet urban space, the flow of traffic and everyday gestures. Steinmetz captures the human density of the city, revealing the quiet poetry of ordinary moments.
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Porte de Champerret (February 2026) #1
2026
Archival silver gelatin print, 28 × 20 cm, framed
Edition 1/7
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Porte de Champerret (January 2026) #2
2026
Archival silver gelatin print, 28 × 20 cm, framed
Edition 1/7
Biography
Mark Steinmetz is an American-French photographer, born in Manhattan in 1961. A Guggenheim Fellow, he studied at Wesleyan University and Yale University, and has taught photography at institutions including Harvard, Yale, Sarah Lawrence College, and Emory University.
His work has been presented in solo exhibitions across the United States and Europe, including at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Fotohof in Salzburg, Galerie Murkudis in Berlin, and the Palac Schoena Museum in Sosnowiec. He is the author of numerous photobooks published by Nazraeli Press, Stanley/Barker, and Kominek Books.
His photographs are held in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.