Gilbert Garcin was born in La Ciotat (France) in 1929. He was originally the owner of a lamp manufacturing company in Marseille, France. Following a workshop during the Rencontres Internationales in Arles, under the direction of Pascal Dolemieux, Garcin, at the age of 65, gave up his business and began his photographic career.

 

Over the past fifteen years, Garcin has published four books and has had numerous international exhibitions. In 2009, he celebrated his 80th birthday with a traveling "Retrospective" exhibition. Garcin's work is in many private and public collections including: Fonds national pour l'art Contemporain, France; Fonds Communal pour l'art Contemporain de Marseille, Marseille; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; Artothèque de Veendam, the Netherlands; Artothèque de Nantes, Nantes; Artothèque de Vitré, Vitré; Médiathèque de Miramas, Miramas; Fondation Regards de Provence, Marseille; Galerie du Château d'Eau, Toulouse; and the West Collection, Philadelphia.