Paul Ickovic

Born Pavel, Paul Ickovic was thirteen when he emigrated with his family to the United States via Czechoslovakia, England and Colombia. An assistant of Henri Cartier-Bresson, friend of Josef Koudelka, his lineage is among the great documentary and street photographers, yet what he sees expresses the daring and heart that is his alone. With a flair reminiscent of Federico Fellini, Paul Ickovic roams the world in pursuit of moments. A storyteller without words, he allows his images to float upon the imagination of the viewer and create their own scenarios-- tales of the romantic and fantastic. Using only his Leica, one lens and black and white film, he reveals the ineffable, the bizarre, tender and beautiful apparitions of life. His subject is the endless variation of relationship and femininity, depicted in his photographs as well as his playful drawings. A pilot, printer and musician, he is the author of five books-- Kafka's Grave, In Transit, Safe Conduct, Gorgeous Infidelities, a collaboration with poet Naila Moreira, and a children's book, Nicholas and The Magic Box. His photographs have been widely exhibited and are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; La Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Prague; Minneapolis Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. Forty of his prints were recently acquired by the New York Public Library and and he is currently working on a monograph to be published in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition. His work is represented by Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana, Slovenia.