For Guillaume Zuili, photography is more than a passion; it is a way of life. Dedicated to his craft, his downtown San Pedro studio serves as both a working darkroom and residence for this French-born photographer who has rigorously honed his talent for the past 40 years. You could say he is a man obsessed.
Above: Mighty Shadow, 2021
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Since 2001 that obsession has focused on finding the truest, most unique expression of his adopted city of Los Angeles and, more recently, his source of refuge from that city—the desert landscapes of Joshua Tree. Both these bodies of work will be featured in The American Years, Guillaume’s upcoming exhibition at Palos Verdes Art Center.
What sets Guillaume’s black-and-white photography apart is his use of a creative printing process using only “lithable” black-and-white darkroom printing papers. The resulting prints, with their rich, warm tones, have a timeless and nostalgic quality. Lith printing has been Guillaume’s artistic language for 24 years, but when it came to finding his voice, he took the long way home.
His journey began in childhood. Born and raised in Paris, his father was a radiologist with an office in their apartment. Guillaume’s first recollection of a darkroom was watching his father develop X-rays. Nonetheless, he defied family expectations to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Above: Eyes of LA, 2021
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Although attempts at pursuing an education in law and business failed to capture his imagination, a fateful trip to India did. Guillaume learned to use a film camera and fell in love with his exotic surroundings and photography as a means of storytelling.
To fund his travels to India, Guillaume took a job assisting a Parisian advertising photographer who shot black-and-white street photography on the side. There he gained technical knowledge of the darkroom by establishing a daily routine of working with one negative at a time until each print was perfected.
When it was time to move on, Guillaume received a valuable parting gift from his mentor. “He offered me his Rolleiflex camera, which was a huge treat at that time,” he recalls. “I left for India with that Rolleiflex, and that is where I really started.”
Guillaume’s career as a photographer took off when he landed a position at VU’ Agency, and his body of work documenting the French settlements in India became the subject of his first book, Pondichéry, Chandernagor, Karikal, Mahé, Yanaon: Les anciens comptoirs français de l’Inde. While he continued to have success shooting photo essays with support from international magazines, he longed to transition from photojournalist to artist.
Above: Man Parking Downtown, 2009
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A serendipitous accident with a broken winder on his Rolleiflex camera led to an experimental series of double-exposure prints of European cities. These “ghost” images, intended as meditations on memory, marked a pivotal point in the photographer’s career—opening the door for him to move away from documentation to abstraction.
Since relocating to Los Angeles, the artist has been exploring a number of techniques to capture the essence of the city and its mythology. A lifelong movie buff, his pinhole photography of L.A., shot through a hole in his lens cap, pays homage to film noir. The Smoke & Mirrors series became a book published by Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière, with whom he exhibits annually at the Paris Photo international art fair.
Above: When the Sun Goes Down #16, 2021
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Guillaume’s desire to push beyond the limitations of these pinhole prints led him to try lith printing. The process enabled the artist to achieve the deep blacks, sharp contrast and sepia tones that make his black-and-white photography so distinctive.
Today Guillaume divides his time between Paris and L.A., making frequent trips to Joshua Tree for inspiration and respite. However, L.A. continues to be his muse. When asked if he plans to keep living here, despite the challenges, he confesses, “Yeah, I do, even if it’s a love and hate relationship, with more love than hate.“
I think everybody has that relationship with Los Angeles.
Guillaume Zuili: The American Years is on view at Palos Verdes Art Center from September 13 through November 15.
