1953-

Didier Massard is one of photography’s most unique illusionists.  His fabricated images, recorded in his studio and meticulously handcrafted, are both beautiful and classic.  His genius, according to Roberta Smith, a New York Times art critic, is found in his lighting techniques, enhanced by his attention to detail.  His work is a photographic response to what is called in painting “Magical Realism,” a genre in which magical elements appear in otherwise realistic settings.  Massard’s work has the feel of Dürer and Oudry – those pristine and primordial feelings one gets from their fairy tale landscapes.  Yet in Massard’s work the sense of illusion is subtly challenged by scale and space.  Massard was born and raised in Paris, where he received his baccalaureate degree in art and archaeology from the University of Paris in 1975.