2017-2023
Through his camera lens, photographer Gérard Uféras offers a rarified backstage pass to the world’s top operas, ballets and fashion shows. Described as a storyteller and magician, Uféras shoots contemporary, figurative photographs that evoke sensuality, mystery, elegance and grace, with a rich sense of humanism.
Born in Paris, in 1954, Uféras was introduced to photography at the tender age of eight, when he began using his father’s cameras. At 11 years old, he was a regular visitor to Paris’s museums, soaking in all aspects of the arts, culture and history.
Although Uféras’s passion for photography began at an early age, it wasn’t until he was 28 — when he was working in a retail shop selling jeans — that he decided to pursue it as a professional career. “I simply didn’t know what I was doing with my life,” he has said. “For a few years at that point, I had a job that didn’t bring me any joy. . . . I realized that if I don’t do something to change my life, I will die working in that shop, so it was really a ‘matter of life’ decision.”
Despite being largely self-taught, Uféras’s natural photographic talent soon caught the eyes of French newspaper editors. He began his career as a photojournalist in 1984, working for the daily Libération, and in 1986, he became a founding member of the VU photo agency. Then, in 1988, Uféras’s watershed moment came when he was invited backstage to photograph at The Palais Garnier. Since then, he has captured stunning portraits and still-lifes at opera houses and ballet performances across Europe.
Similarly, Uféras has been given carte-blanche access to major fashion houses such as Givenchy and Dior, resulting in beautifully shot, candid photographs of unposed models.
Throughout his career, Uféras’s black-and-white and color photographs have been featured in numerous international publications, including Le Monde, the New York Times, Beaux Arts magazine, Paris Match and L’Express. His works are in the collections in several major museums, such as The National Gallery in London, the Musée de l’Elysée (Photo Elysée) in Lausanne, the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.
On 1stDibs, find a range of Gérard Uféras photography.
La Scala, Ballarina leaving the stage - Limited Edition Fine Art Photography
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
Gérard Uféras is a renowned French photographer celebrated for his emotive and intimate documentary style, particularly in the world of performing arts. His exhibition "Lo sguardo na...
Archival Pigment
Un Fantôme à L'Opéra, Palais Garnier V - Limited Edition Photograph
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
In this sculptural black and white photograph, Gérard Uféras captures a performer in a moment of physical preparation at the Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier. The body is seen...
Silver Gelatin
Un Fantôme à L'Opéra, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscou V - Limited Edition Photograph
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
In this haunting black and white photograph, Gérard Uféras captures a young ballerina waiting in the wings of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Dressed in a delicate stage costume, she ...
Silver Gelatin
Bolshoi Corps de Ballet - Limited Edition Fine Art Photography
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
Delicate, elegant, and yet bursting of life and colour. Gérard Uféras offers an intimate and unique insight into the world of ballet. The ruffling of dresses backstage, a perfect pos...
Archival Pigment
Un Fantôme à L'Opéra, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscou IV - Limited Edition Photograph
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
This tender black and white photograph by Gérard Uféras portrays a young dancer seated backstage at the Bolshoi Theatre. Dressed in costume and ballet shoes, she sits quietly on a wo...
Silver Gelatin
Salzburger Festspiele, Autriche 1996 II - Limited Edition Fine Art Photography
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
“Salzburger Festspiele, Autriche, 1996” by Gérard Uféras captures a fleeting, almost dreamlike moment suspended between performance and reality. A ballerina, seen from behind, descen...
Archival Pigment
Gianfranco Ferré Prêt-à-Porter, Milan Backstage, Fashion Fine Art Photography
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
“Gianfranco Ferré Prêt-à-Porter, Milan” by Gérard Uféras is a striking black-and-white backstage photograph that captures the intimate tension and sculptural elegance of a haute cout...
Silver Gelatin
L´ange du Saint Francois, Salzburger Festspiele, Fine Art Photography
By Gérard Uféras
Located in Vienna, AT
L´ange du Saint Francois d´assise de Messiaen, Salzburger Festspiele, Autrice, 1992 by Gérad Uféras. All prints are limited edition. Available in multiple sizes. High-end framing on request. All prints are done and signed by the artist. Daring women, teint de porcelaine, and delicate tracings in silver; the French star photographer Gérard Uféras creates masterpieces radiant with a certain je ne sais quoi. Moving the noise of everyday life into the background for a moment, his works are aesthetic oases for the senses. Curving down an exposed back, delineating delicate lines, or an ephemeral smile: Uféras is the connoisseur of fashion and ballet photography. His works are an homage to female elegance, playfulness, and jest. Gerard Uferas...
Silver Gelatin
French Contemporary Photography by Charlotte Brunstein - L'envoil
By Charlotte Brunstein
Located in Paris, IDF
Edition 3 of 15 Charlotte Brunstein is a French photographer born in 1978 who lives & works in Paris, France. Her work unfolds within a sensitive space where the image seeks to ...
Photographic Paper
"Ballet" Black & White Photography 16" x 16" in Ed. 1/24 by Olha Stepanian
By Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Ballet" Black & White Photography 16" x 16" in Ed. 1/24 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the ar...
Photographic Paper
No title (No 81) Ballet Photography 36 x 25 in Ed. of 28 by Yevgeniy Repiashenko
By Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Located in Culver City, CA
No title (No 81) Ballet Photography 36 x 25 in Ed. of 28 by Yevgeniy Repiashenko No title (No 81) by Yevgeniy Repiashenko Year photo was taken: 2015 Limited Edition of 28 Picture s...
Archival Pigment
"Ballet" Black & White Photography 31" x 31" in Edition of 7 by Olha Stepanian
By Olha Stepanian
Located in Culver City, CA
"Ballet" Black & White Photography 31" x 31" in Edition of 7 by Olha Stepanian Printed on Epson Professional Paper Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA issued by the...
Photographic Paper
