Open your eyes! The best of Paris Photo fair – in pictures

From duelling mascara brushes to photographs taken using 400,000-volt currents of electricity, these are the images set to light up the French capital

Sanfermines, Pamplona, 1956-60 (solo show)

The show Unveiling Masats provides an opportunity for audiences to immerse themselves in the exceptional photography of Ramón Masats, a pioneering figure in documentary photography in Spain during the 1950s and 60s. The primary aim of the exhibition is to internationalise Masats’ work. You can see more in this gallery. Paris Photo runs from 7-10 November

Photograph: Ramón Masats/Alta Gallery

Hands Draped Over Fabric, 2021 (solo show)

Images in Erik Madigan Heck’s solo show The Garden are composited and oversaturated with colour to create painterly and surreal compositions in which the familiar and fantastic are merged. Completing its aesthetic fantasy through lavish clothes, gestures of dreamlike poignancy and an Edenic environment, The Garden conveys a life lived in the direct, immediate experience of beauty

Photograph: Erik Madigan Heck/Christophe Guye gallery

Goldene Schallplatte (self-portrait), 1974

For the first time in France, Christophe Gaillard Gallery will be exhibiting a set of works by visionary photographer Deborah Turbeville, whose prints are characterised by timeless compositions and a singular grain. Pierre Molinier’s work is also on show, as is the work of Luciano Castelli, muse and artist, who explored questions of identity through his correspondence with Molinier and in his self-portraits

Photograph: Luciano Castelli/Christophe Gaillard gallery

Untitled, 2024 (solo show)

Jack Davison depicts the human figure, architecture, animals, objects, landscapes and townscapes; yet his subject is always photography itself. Uncovering the surreal and the sensual in everyday life, Davison’s use of chiaroscuro, framing and exposure as instruments of abstraction draws on the history of photography. Parallels have also been made with Max Ernst and Man Ray, keying him into a surrealist inheritance. You can see more of his work in this gallery

Photograph: Jack Davison/COB gallery

Lightning Fields, 2009 (solo show)

Lightning Fields, which also draws from the history of science, translates early research in electricity into dramatic images by applying a 400,000-volt current of electricity directly to film. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work explores themes of time, empiricism and metaphysics. Grounded in technical mastery of the classical photographic tradition, he examines the ways photography can record traces of invisible but elemental forces. You can see more in this gallery

Photograph: Hiroshi Sugimoto/Fraenkel Gallery

Unflatable Headwear, 1990 (solo show)

In the early 1970s, William Wegman collaborated with his first Weimaraner dog, Man Ray; together they became famous. Bill and Man Ray play around with everyday items, and in doing so deride our mannerisms and appearance with a subtle and compelling humour

Photograph: William Wegman/Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois Gallery

Feels so good, 2021

‘Skinship’ is a common term in Japan, that describes the skin-to-skin, heart-to-heart relationship between a mother and a child, as well as among other close relatives. This includes breastfeeding, cuddling, piggyback rides, bathing together, co-sleeping and even playing. A child learns to care for others from loving touch. It is important for their healthy development and the strengthening of family bonds

Photograph: Takako Kido/IBASHO Gallery

Napoli, 2022 (solo show)

Anders Petersen is one of the most influential contemporary photographers. In 2022 he was invited by Spot gallery to craft a portrait of the city during a month-long residency in Naples

Photograph: Anders Petersen/SPOT gallery

Untitled, 1979

Tee A Corinne’s liberating and joyful portrayals of lesbian life and lovemaking were powerful tools at a time when such representation was largely non-existent. This exhibition will present a selection of Corinne’s erotic compositions. The images explore sexuality in all its spiritual charge. Considering the political and social context of the 1970s and 80s when these images were created, their intimacy takes on a radical power; their tenderness becomes a tool of activism. Read about Corinne’s work here

Photograph: Tee A Corinne/Webber Gallery

Common Sense, (Cigarettes and Florida) 1998 (solo show)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first exhibition of Common Sense, Martin Parr’s influential series of photographs of international consumerism. The original presentation appeared as a grid of 350 colour Xeroxes at Rocket, London, in 1999 and was simultaneously shown at 52 locations around the world

Photograph: Martin Parr/Magnum Photos/Rocket Gallery

Curtains, 1972 (dual show)

Throughout his career Fred Herzog worked almost exclusively with Kodachrome slide film, and only in the past decade did technology allow him to make archival pigment prints that match the exceptional colour and intensity of the Kodachrome slide. Herzog’s use of colour was unusual in the 1950s and 60s, a time when art photography was almost exclusively associated with black and white. In this respect, his photographs can be seen as a pre-figuration of the New Colour photographers of the 1970s. See more work here

Photograph: Estate of Fred Herzog/Equinox gallery

Love Letter, 2014

Jiang Zhi works with a wide range of media, including photography, painting, video and installation. Fiction and poetry have also been an important part of his artistic output. Consistently engaging with contemporary social and cultural issues, Jiang consciously positions himself at the intersection of poetics and sociology, while weaving mundane social and personal experiences into his works

Photograph: Jiang Zhi/Paris-B Gallery

Handlanger (bricklayer), 1928

On display for the first time in Europe is August Sander’s series People from the Twentieth Century. Sander was born 17 November 1876. In the early 1920s, he met regularly with the Group of Progressive Artists in Cologne, including Franz W Seiwert and Heinrich Hoerle. It was at this time that he formalised the concept for this major project. You can see more in this gallery

Photograph: August Sander/Julian Sander Gallery

Course de roller, Angleterre, 1930

Since its beginning, the Lumière des Roses Gallery has explored the immense field of anonymous photography

Photograph: Courtesy Lumière des Roses Gallery

My Husband series, 1983

Tokuko Ushioda’s distinct style is rooted in her studies with her husband and child, whose influence is visible in her work from this period. As Ushioda adapted to her life as a newlywed and mother, her need for artistic growth seems to have come into clear focus. She writes: ‘I have always worked as a record keeper. It’s very interesting to see how the world changes through the camera. After a while, you start to want to see where it ends. I take photos of things that are close to me.’ You can see more in our gallery of Japanese women photographers

Photograph: Tokuko Ushioda/PGI Gallery

Mascara Wars, New York, 2001

Phyllis Posnick, executive fashion editor, Vogue: ‘Brushes sell mascara, and so companies spend millions of dollars developing breakthrough technology. [Irving] Penn was reporting for us on the ‘mascara war’ between two of the giants. The model’s eyes were closed for two hours while Penn photographed every possible variation of the duelling brushes. He had a picture that wasn’t especially exciting. But when the model opened her eyes, he noticed they were bloodshot and said, ‘Don’t move.’ He did two or three more exposures. Here was the shock that was missing!’

Photograph: Irving Penn/Michael Hoppen Gallery

Iron, 2023

Lisa Jahovic’s work is underpinned by an ongoing exploration of anthropomorphism - shifting between sculpture, film and photography. Jahovic’s practice casts everyday objects as her protagonists, making the inanimate animated and giving voice to the seemingly mundane. Through the language of performative sculpture, she communicates ideas about identity and memory

Photograph: Lisa Jahovic/Flowers Gallery

Circus, 1956

Akira Tanno first attracted attention for his photographs of musicians and ballerinas visiting Japan from overseas. But whether at the circus or the coal mines, Tanno’s photographs share a commonality in viewing people’s lives within the stage setting of life

Photograph: Akira Tanno/Third Eye Aya Gallery