The Marche aux Puces at Saint-Ouen, just outside the city limits of Paris, is said to be the greatest flea market in the world. “It is a museum of antiques, a P.T. Barnum sideshow, a life size dollhouse, a fever dream,” says photographer Christopher Rauschenberg.

A series of his photographs, Marche aux Puces, is featured in the Main Gallery of the Griffin Museum September 9 through November 7. An opening reception is September 15.

“This exhibition is a salute to the dealers of Saint-Ouen, who have created this stream-of-consciousness dream world in search of commerce but in search of poetry, too,” says Rauschenberg. “These photographs of this dream world somehow tell me things that I had an inkling of and that I hope to someday almost know.”

Rauschenberg, a native of New York, has a degree in photography from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He taught art and photography at Marylhurst University in Oregon from 1982 to 1996.

In 1995, he organized a group of a dozen artists to join him in a nine-year long photographic exploration and documentation of the city of Portland. He and a second group of artists are working on a second, nine-year re-exploration.

In 1997 and 1998, Rauschenberg took three trips to Paris and re-photographed 500 of the images made of the city by Eugene Atget between 1890 and 1927. He’s had solo shows and participated in group shows around the world.

A resident of Portland, Oregon, he is co-founder and past president of Photolucida, a photography festival formerly called Photo Americas. He is co-founder, co-curator, and board chairman of Blue Sky Gallery, where for more than 34 years he has co-curated and co-produced 650 solo exhibitions and 45 group shows. He is also co-founder and a member of the co-op Nine Gallery. He has edited and produced some 60 art and photography publications.

Lion’s Head Antiques and Collectibles of Winchester has graciously loaned antique items to augment our exhibition. 626 Main St. Winchester, MA 781.729.4550