Professional Documents
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About David LaChapelle PDF
About David LaChapelle PDF
BIO EXHIBITIONS
Upcoming / Current Exhibitions
Bling Bling Baby Show,NRW Forum, Dusseldorf, Germany, November 19, 2016
January 15, 2017
Solo Exhibition, Ara Modern Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea, November 18,
2016 February 26, 2017
Art FairParis Photo Art Fair, Paris France, November 10 13, 2016
Solo Exhibition, Usina del Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 29 December
31, 2016
Art Fair, Ch. ACO Art Fair, Santiago, Chile, October 14 16, 2016
Iluminación , Fundación Unión, Montevideo, Uruguay, June 24 October 7, 2016
Solo Museum + Public Exhibitions
2016 Símbolos de inmortalidad , Museo Agadu, Montevideo, Uruguay, June
22 August 26, 2016
Art Fair, Exposition Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, September 23
September 25, 2016
David LaChapelle: Gas Stations , Edward Hopper House, Nyack, New
York, July 9 September 11, 2016
Posmodernidad , Espacio De Arte Contemporaneo, Montevideo,
Uruguay, June 9 August 26, 2016
Contemporaneidad , Centro De La Fotografia, Montevideo, Uruguay,
June 24 September 4, 2016
Pipe Dream , Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich, Switzerland, December
10 February 19, 2016
The Armory Show, Piers 92 & 94, New York City, NY, March 36, 2016
AIPAD:The Photography Show, The Park Avenue Armory, New York
City, NY, April 14 17, 2016
2015 Festival Foto Industria 02, Bologna, Italy, October 2 – November 1,
2015
David LaChapelle: Dopo Il Diluvio
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy, April 29 – September 20
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About - David LaChapelle
Fotografias 1984 – 2013 Museum of Contemporary Art Chile, Santiago,
Chile, July 29September 27
Fotografias 1984 – 20100013 Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Lima,
Peru, January 23 – April 13
2014 Land Scape Public exhibition at bus stop R / Aldwych, London, UK,
September 12 – 22
Once in the Garden OstLicht. Galerie für Fotografie, Vienna, Austria,
June 2 – September 14
2012 Burning Beauty Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, November
30 – March 3
Lucca Center of Contemporary Art Museum, Lucca, Italy, June 29 –
November 4
Bexco: Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, Busan, South Korea,
June 16 – October 21
2011 Thus Spoke LaChapelle, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic,
December 7 – February 26, 2012
David LaChapelle In Seoul, Hangaram Design Museum, Seoul, South
Korea, November 22 – March 4
NosOtros: La Humanidad Al Borde, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de
Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 21 – March 25
Lost and Found, Bratislava City Gallery – Pálffy Palace, Bratislava,
Slovakia, September 14 – October 31
From Darkness to Light, Lever House, New York, NY, June 2 –
September 2
Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China, April 16 –
May 7
Earth Laughs in Flowers, Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover, Germany,
February 25 – May 8
2010 Postmodern Pop Photography, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel,
July 13 – November 20
The Rape of Africa, Museum of Contemporary Canadia Art – Courtyard
(part of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival), Toronto, Canada,
May 1 – 31
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, April 9 – May 30
2009 Delirios de Razón (Delusions of Reason), Museo de Las Artes,
Guadalajara, Mexico, September 4 – November 15
Rétrospective, Musée de la Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France, February
6 – May 31
Delirios de Razón (Delusions of Reason), Antiguo Colegio de San
Ildefonso, Mexico City, Mexico, February 4 – June 28
2008 Forte Belvedere Museum, Florence, Italy, July 15 – October 19
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About - David LaChapelle
Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, April 12 – May 11
Awards Heaven to Hell: Belezas e Desastres, Museu Brasileiro da Escultura,
Sao Paolo, Brazil, January 23 – February 5
Cannes Gold Lion for "Peace and Love Together", 2015
Doctorate in Fine Arts (Hon.) from UNCSA, 2015 2007 Palazzo Reale Museum, Milan, Italy, September 24 – January 6, 2008
2014 Young Photographers Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award
2012 Artist of the Year, American Friends of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Heaven to Hell, Museo de Arte Latinoamericana de Buenos Aires,
2012 National Geographic Magazine Photography Seminar, Featured Speaker Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 30 – May 21
OUT in Art Award, GLAAD Award
Best New Photographer of the Year, French Photo and American Photo 2006 David LaChapelle: VIP, Very Important Portrait, Museo di Capodimonte,
magazines Naples, Italy, March 24 – June 30
ICP Infinity Award for Applied Photography
Photographer of the Year Award, the VH1 Fashion Awards 2005 KALS'ART, Palermo, Italy, July 1 – September 15
Art Directors Club Award for Best Book Design for LaChapelle Land
Best Cutting Edge Essay and Style Photography, Life magazine's Alfred 2003 All American, Rockefeller Center: Montblanc International, October 30
Eisenstadt Awards for Magazine Photography (the Eisies) – January 30, 2004
Cover of the Year Category, the Eisies
Best Video for Moby's Natural Blues, the MTV Europe Music Awards James Gallery at Moscow House of Photography, Moscow, Russia,
12th Annual MVPA Awards Adult Contemporary Video of the Year Elton John April 7 – April 25
This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
13th Annual MVPA Awards Winner Director of the Year Best 2002 Photographs, The Barbican, London, UK
Rock Video of the Year for No Doubt It's My Life
Special Juried Prize Mountainfilm, Telluride LaChapelle, Kunst Haus Wien, Vienna, Austria, June 6 – September 22
Special Juried Recognition, Sundance Film Festival
Best Documentary, Aspen Film Festival 2000 Photology a Villa Impero, Bologna, Italy, March 4 – July 28
Presented with GLAAD's Vito Russo Award for Outstanding Contributions
Toward Eliminating Homophobia 1999 Hotel LaChapelle, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy, March 19 –
May 24
Public Collections 20th Festival de la Mode, Galleries LaFayette, Paris, France, October 5
– January 5, 2000
Bayerische Staatsoper Portrait Gallery, Munich, Germany
Brandhorst Foundation, Munich, Germany The Beautiful & Bizarre, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, March 2 –
Daimler Art Collection, Stuttgart, Germany June 2
La Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, New York, NY 1998 Palacio Pombal, Lisbon, Portugal, September 17 – December 11
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Foundation, Paris, France LaChapelle Land, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France, July 5 –
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK September 12
Serge Delsemme Foundation, Belgium
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 1997 LaChapelle Land, Photology, Milan, Italy, March 7 – April 30
1989 Santa Fe Center for Photography, Santa Fe, NM, February 18 – May
Videography 18
Daphne Guinness "Evening In Space" Life Never Dies, Mars, New York, NY, February 11 – May 11
Mariah Carey "Almost Home"
Florence and The Machine "Spectrum" 1986 Taking Pictures is Fun, Palladium, New York, NY, September 11 –
Elton John – " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" December 11
Amy Winehouse – "Tears Dry on Their Own"
Jennifer Lopez – "Do It Well"
Solo Gallery Exhibitions
No Doubt – "It's My Life"
Christina Aguilera – "The Voice Within"
2016 David LaChapelle: Muses, DSC Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic,
Blink182 – "Feeling This"
March 22 May 7
Britney Spears – "Everytime"
Christina Aguilera feat. Redman – "Dirrty"
2014 Land Scape, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, October 20 – December
Moby – "Natural Blues"
23
Jennifer Lopez – "I'm Glad"
Gwen Stefani feat. Eve – "Rich Girl"
Land Scape, Robilant + Voena, Milan, Italy, September 16 – October
Norah Jones – "Those Sweet Words"
17
Macy Gray – "She Ain't Right for You"
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 3/12
About - David LaChapelle
Elton John – "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" Jablonka Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland, April 1 – June 7
Avril Lavigne – "I'm With You"
Joss Stone – "Super Duper Love" Land Scape, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY, January 17 – March
The Dandy Warhols – "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" 1
Christina Aguilera feat. Lil' Kim – "Can't Hold Us Down"
Robbie Williams – "Advertising Space" 2013 Gas Stations, Jablonka Maruani Mercier Gallery, Brussels, Belgium,
Kelis – "Good Stuff" December 11 – January 31, 2014
The Vines – "Outtathaway"
Elton John – "All That I'm Allowed" Still Life, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, France, June 6 – July 26
Elton John – "Answer in the Sky"
Whitney Houston – "Try It on My Own" 2012 Still Life, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, November 28 – January 19,
Enrique Iglesias – "Sad Eyes" 2013
Elton John – "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"
Mariah Carey feat. Da Brat and Ludacris – "Loverboy" Jesus is My Homeboy, Jablonka Galerie Böhm Chapel, Köln, Germany,
Elton John – "Original Sin" May 14 – August 19
Penny Ford – "I'll Be There"
Space Monkeys – "Sugar Cane" Earth Laughs in Flowers, Patricia Low Contemporary, Geneva,
Switzerland, March 15 – April 29
Critical Essay Earth Laughs in Flowers, ROBILANT+VOENA Gallery, Milan, Italy,
February 16 – March 24
Post on Pop
Nili Goren, Curator, Tel Aviv Museum Earth Laughs in Flowers, ROBILANT+VOENA Gallery, London, UK,
February 14—March 24
David LaChapelle is known internationally and in Israel as a photographer, a
director of documentaries, and a video artist whose colorful, smooth and Earth Laughs in Flowers, St. Moritz Art Masters, St. Moritz,
extroverted style is filled with sensuality, fantasy, and dark adventure, packed Switzerland, February 11 – 26
with accessible popular images, and communicates with a wide and variegated
audience. His images have appeared on the covers of scores of leading fashion Addicted to Passion, Arendt & Medernach, Luxembourg, September 26
and entertainment magazines, and LaChapelle himself has played a pivotal role – December 30
in the promotion of prestigious brands, such as Diesel, Nokia, Tommy Hilfiger,
etc. He has photographed hundreds of celebrities, always depicted 2011 Negative Currency and Recollections in America, PRISM, Los Angeles,
provocatively, usually in full or partial nudity. CA, September 27 – November 5
Albeit daring, the nudity in these photographs does not result from him being Earth Laughs in Flowers, Maruani & Noirhomme Gallery, Knokke,
trigger-happy, nor from an attempt to surprise and shock. Even in his commercial Belgium, August 5 – September 12
photographs, LaChapelle combines criticism of the marketing method whose
objects are all those taking part in its constitution, including the target audience The Raft, de Sarthe Fine Art, Hong Kong, China, May 25 – July 2
(of both the marketed product and the photograph as an object), and even the
photographer himself as the one who creates the bait of the sales scheme. David LaChapelle: Early works 1984 – 1988, Michelman Fine Art, New
York, NY, May 2 – June 15
When he photographed rapper Lil Kim for the Louis Vuitton campaign, the
company logos were imprinted from head to toe on the dark skin of her naked Cathedral, Galerie Michael Schultz, Berlin, Germany, April 27 – May 24
body as a stamp. In this manner he created a salespromoting attraction while, at
the same time, placing the singer, himself, and the public of viewers and 2010 Galeria Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain,
potential buyers as part of the array responsible for commodification of the December 17 – February 26, 2011
female body. The "brandname rush," the pursuit of fashionable designer items,
the obsessive manicuring of the body in an attempt to resemble the figures on Documents of Desire & Disasters, Paul Kasmin Gallery, Istanbul,
the catwalk or in the Oscars ceremony—all these rituals, as means to acquire a Turkey, December 9 – March 1, 2011
social status, make for the body's transformation into a label, and the conversion
of the human figure into advertising space. Restart, Tavi Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 7 – November 4
LaChapelle does not sanctify the erotic facet in order to satisfy the voyeuristic American Jesus, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY, July 13 –
urge or the curiosity of an audience of viewers and fans; he prefers to celebrate September 18
the freedom to use it precisely in order to liberate the representation of the body,
primarily the female body, from the pornographic context, from erroneous The Rape of Africa, Robilant + Voena, London, UK, April 27 – June 23
interpretation, and from the inevitable association of nakedness with sin, or the
mechanical association of passion and lust with sexual gratification, abuse, and Eden, Alain Noirhomme Gallery, Brussels, Belgium, April 20 – May 20
humiliation.
Deluge – Awakened, Galleria Manzoni, Bergamo, Italy, March 20 –
LaChapelle's first exhibition in Israel, at The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, contains April 28
very little nudity, which is not intended to promote sales, but rather to convey an
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 4/12
idea. The show features only a few traces of LaChapelle's familiar body of workAbout - David LaChapelle
and the Hollywood icons. Central Connecticut Sate University, New Britain, CT, March 18 – April
22
Exceptional in this context are three monumental photographs of Michael 11x, MbfKunstprojekte, Munich, Germany, February 24—April 1
Jackson, two of them conduct an explicit dialogue with death: one portrays the
singer collapsed in the arms of another man, who takes the place of Mary in the 2009 Cars and Money, Wolfgang Roth & Partners Fine Art Gallery, Miami,
Pietà pose; the other portrays Jackson as the Archangel Michael defeating FL, December 1 – February 13, 2010
Satan. LaChapelle distances Jackson's controversial personality far from the
juicy gossip and horror estates in three images which shift the discussion of the American Jesus, Sebastian Guinness Gallery, Dublin, Ireland,
legend—that accompanied the singer's intricate biography and continues the September 18 – November 28
mystery around the story of his death—into a new, religious context.
The Rape of Africa, David DeSanctis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA,
Most of the photographed subjects in the exhibition are neither actors, singers, September 12 – October 31
or major glamorous figures, but rather models whose very anonymity makes for
a criticism devoid of gossipy preaching, of ascription to a specific figure or The Rape of Africa, Galerie Alex Daniels, Amsterdam, Netherlands,
episode; criticism directed at a social moral content which converses with life June 6 – July 31
and the art world.
2008 Jesus is My Homeboy, Wolfgang Roth & Partners Fine Art Gallery,
To some extent, LaChapelle is considered an outsider in the art world and in the Miami, FL, December 2 – January 10, 2009
world of commercial photography alike. He tends to add subversive ideas and
unusual aspects to the marketed product. In an advertising campaign for coffee, Galerie Rhomberg, Innsbruck, Austria, November – January 2009
for example, he chose to emphasize the fact that it is a stimulant, and alluded to
the fetishistic dimension inherent in the coffee ritual, complete with the pompous Jesus is My Homeboy, Robilant + Voena, London, UK, October 13 –
jargon associated with it, which he compared to the pompous ritualism of November 7
sadomasochistic rituals.
Auguries of Innocence, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY,
LaChapelle is an exceptional practitioner in the field of advertising, among other September 12 – October 24
reasons, since he frequently incorporates in his works metaphors with a moral,
religious motifs, and familiar elements from works by the great masters, from the 2007 Awakened, Goss Gallery, Dallas, TX, March 20 – April 11
Middle Ages to the present.
Awakened, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY, February 24 – August
Such references are foreign to the world of magazine advertising and the clean 3
and alienated highgloss language characterizing the genre. In the critical
cultural discourse typifying the contemporary art world, and especially Awakened, Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary
contemporary photography, on the other hand, there is avoidance, nearly to the Islands, Spain
point of loathing, of the use of canonical references and their direct interpretation
as an allegory for existential values. 2006 Heaven to Hell, Jablonka Galerie, Berlin, Germany. November 30 –
February 2
LaChapelle performs an iconoclastic act in the critical discourse.
Galerie Du XX Siécle, Paris, France, October 26 – November 18
He avoids academic understatement and educated insertion of cynical preaching
into ideological discussions of contemporary theory. At the same time, he does 2005 Pictures for Italian Vogue 2001–2005, StaleyWise Gallery, New York,
not flaunt his clear preference for mundane language rife with hackneyed NY, December – January 2006
symbols and cliché images; instead he simply uses it with rich and piercing,
stylized creative freedom. He stages wild scenes and dark adventure stories, Grand Opening: David LaChapelle, Goss Gallery, Dallas, TX, May 20 –
replete with images and events, arranged in oneshot across the entire frame, August 12
some of them requiring more than one viewing to grasp fully.
David LaChapelle in Amsterdam, Galerie Alex Daniels/ Reflex Modern
LaChapelle's work is interspersed with humor, at times even irony, but it is Art Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 7 – July 16
entirely devoid of cynicism. The Crash works are all but meant to be a cynical
comment on the flux of catastrophes passing before our eyes in shocking news Maruani & Noirhomme Gallery, Knokke, Belgium, March 26—April 20
images to which we have become so accustomed; nor are they oriented toward
perversion and dark passions as we know them, for example, from James Artists & Prostitutes 1985—2005, Deitch Projects, New York, NY,
Ballard's eponymous novel or from David Cronenberg's film by the same title March 12 – April 21
based on it.
2004 Portraits of Musicians, Rudolf Budja Galerie – Artmosphere Vienna,
LaChapelle's crashes address an economic crash, the collapse inherent in the Salzburg, Austria, November 4 – December 18
sanctified capitalistic ideal, and therefore they are accompanied by pathosfilled
titles originating in slogans from the marketing campaigns of the depicted cars 2002 All American, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY, July 16 –
(The Crash: Boundless Freedom, 2008; The Crash: Intelligent Decadence, 2008; September 21
The Crash: Enhanced Performance, 2008).
2001
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About - David LaChapelle
The same applies to the banknotes (Negative Currency: 100 Shekel as a Fotografie, Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy, September 26 –
Negative, 2010). These are not replicated in series, like Andy Warhol's dollar November 4
bills from 1962, and although, similarly to early Pop, their very appearance in the
photograph conceals a criticism of the values celebrated by affluent society, the Fish Stick, Camerawork Gallery, Berlin, Germany, September 7 –
approach to the object in his work is fundamentally different with regard to the art November 23
world and its products, as well as to consumerist society and its commodities.
Photology, Bologna, Italy, March 4 – July 28
In the presented bill, in contradistinction to Warhol's endless replication of
dollars, the intention is neither to exhaust the eye, nor to indicate the lack of a 2000 Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO, December 29 – February 16, 2001
focal point in the work or the limitations of the printing technique as opposed to
the welloiled and exact capital mechanism. Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, May 25 – June 8
The two sides of the banknote appear together and in reversal colors at the final LaChapelle Land,Photology, Milan, Italym March 6 – August 30
print thus associate with art's intricate ageold confrontation of the paradox of
twodimensional representation of a reality which has volume. 1996 LaChapelle Land, Staley Wise Gallery, New York, NY, November 8 –
November 30
A discussion that took a significant turn in postImpressionism and in Cubism
after Cézanne, as the painterly surface was opened to concurrent presentation 1993 PomPom Croissant, Tomoko Liguori Gallery, New York, NY, September
of several perspectives, through fragmentary and holographic panoramic 11 – October 9
photography, to 3D cinema and stateoftheart virtual reality systems.
1991 Facility of Movement, Tomoko Liguori Gallery, New York, NY, November
The two dimensions are superimposed into a single photograph, in fact opting for 9 – December 21
the traditional option of multiple exposures and their printing into a single
photograph, a process which distorts the conveyed data, yet generates a new 1989 Mirrors of God, David LaChapelle Cibachromes, Trabia MacAfee
occurrence transpiring almost only on the plane of the work. In the case of the Gallery, May 25 – June 18
banknote, the simultaneous manifestation of front and back is familiar from the
gesture common among merchants and sellers, who hold the note against the Somewhere Better, Trabia MacAfee Gallery, New York, NY, January 7 –
light to reaffirm its originality by means of transparency and the water marks January 28
imprinted in it.
1988 Your Needs Met, 56 Bleecker Gallery, New York, NY, May 25 – June 25
In the context of authenticity and commercialization of art works, in his
spectacular banknote photographs the artist furnishes us—consciously and in Javier Cibachromes, Trabia MacAfee Gallery, New York, NY, April 11 –
carefullycontrolled dosage—with arguments and food for thought in the futile May 12
debate among art lovers regarding the commercial apparatus and the pricing
and evaluation methods in the art market. 1986 Taking Pictures is Fun, Palladium, New York, NY
Double-Take
Group Exhibition, La Villette, La Grande Galarie du Foot, Paris, France,
The negation of the subject, announced in postmodernism as the "death of the
June 5 July 10, 2016
author," was already apparent in Pop with the transition from the concept of the
author to that of the artist who operates within society, documenting and
Divine Decadence, The Castle of Gaasbeek, Belgium, March 27June
gathering existing images, and generating a collective subject of sorts.
26, 2016
Thereby early Pop succeeded, despite its relinquishment of the single subject, to
Botticelli Reimagined, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United
continue formulating basic feelings and sentiments, such as love, despair, and
Kingdom, March 5 – July 3, 2016
hope, which culminated in Roy Lichtenstein's comics works. On the other hand,
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 6/12
About - David LaChapelle
Warhol's doctrine represented total renunciation of the emotional disposition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the
accompanying the private or collective subject. The artist became a social Catwalk, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul Korea, March 25 June
historian, who documents and replicates images as cultural products. 30, 2016
LaChapelle grew up in an artistic setting which fully exploited the freedom of American Cool, National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C., February 7
visual expression and the breaching of the boundaries of morality and – September 7
censorship. At the same time, his approach does not quarrel with the numbness
to which the liberty of the image has led. Instead it turns to the freedom of Beyond Earth Art, Cornell University: Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca,
metaphor. LaChapelle strives to return the audience, the individuals in society, NY, January 25 – June 8
from their status as signifiers or as elements in the semiotic discourse, to their
human existence, as active partners in the discourse, rather than the subjects 2013 En compagnie de Guy Bourdin: Fotografien aus der Sammlung F.C.
discussed in it. Gundlach, Haus der Photographie/Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany,
November 1 – January 26
LaChapelle combines religious narratives in his work, which, throughout history,
have been introduced into art by the church and were intended to preach and A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess, World
glorify its power. Devout Christianity used Christ to foster propaganda, and God Chess Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO, October 19 – April 18
—to provide an excuse for killing and wars under the guise of reward and
punishment. LaChapelle opts for the tolerant facet of religion, focusing on Cavinets de Curiosities, Le Musee SainteCroix, Poitiers, France,
sermons which preach for love, forgiveness, and acceptance of the other. Via re October 18 – March 16
makes of original works he produces a fresh statement of his own. A blend of
kitsch with porn chic, incorporating Hollywood and the New Testament in a single Foto A–Z, NRWForum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf, Germany,
frame, and combining comics with Baroque and dark perversions with a soft and September 28 – January 5, 2014
vulnerable human nature.
Masculine/Masculine. The Nude Man in Art from 1800 to the Present
Courtney Love's Pietà photograph with a lookalike of her dead husband, Kurt Day, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, September 24 – January 12, 2014
Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, as baby Jesus in her lap, sheds a new light on
one of the bestknown representations of death and compassion in the history of In God We Trust, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland,
culture, drawing analogies between religion and faith, with the entire spectrum of September 7 – November 10
feelings and emotions they invoke, and the adoration of rock stars and popular
culture icons. The work's foreground features an infant with golden locks playing It’s an American Thing, StaleyWise Gallery, New York, NY, July 29 –
with giant dicelike blocks bearing the inscription "Heaven to Hell," sentencing September 14, 2013
the rock star, who committed suicide, to either eternal rest or everlasting
torments, depending on the result. The stigmata marks on the arms and feet of Flowers and Mushrooms, Museum der Moderne Mönchsberg,
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 7/12
About - David LaChapelle
the deceased are also the wounds bleeding due to heroin injection, thereby Salzburg, Austria, July 27 – October 27
reinforcing the analogy between the ecstasy offered by religion and that granted
by narcotics. AND THOSE WHO WERE SEEN DANCING WERE THOUGHT TO BE
INSANE BY THOSE WHO COULD NOT HEAR THE MUSIC, Friedman
Marilyn Monroe, the quintessential sex symbol and the ultimate celebrity—the Benda, New York, NY, July 16 – August 17
star who reflected a reality of suffering, exploitation, and a tragic death at a
young age, alongside glamor and fame, drew the interest of Pop artists and their Traumfrauen – Traummänner, Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock, Germany,
followers. Much like Japanese artist, Yasumasa Morimura, who quoted her July 14 – September 1
renowned photograph with the fluttering skirt in a selfportrait as Marilyn,
LaChapelle also treats her image in a gender context, yet adds another twist, Divine Bodies, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, UK, June 8 – September
since he quotes the star's figure not from a direct photographic documentation of 29
her, but rather from the most hackneyed version of her portrait in Warhol's Pop
piece. Morimura used Monroe for a game of sexual identities, as part of which he Vanity, Muzeum Narodowe W Krakowie, Krakow, Poland, May 21 –
masqueraded and had his picture taken in the figure of famous actresses who September 1
became icons of the ultimate femininity (Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Greta
Garbo). Collectible III – Photographies, A. Galerie, Paris, France, January 21 –
March 2
LaChapelle shifted from impersonation to the real thing, from crossdressing to
trans-gender. As homage to Warhol's Marilyn, he photographed Amanda Lepore, 2012 About Caravaggio: Visioni & Illusiono Contemporanee, Museuo
a New Yorkbased transsexual who gained fame mainly through his photographs Tuscolano, Rome, Italy, December 1 – April 7, 2013
where she starred proudly between photographs of models in leading fashion
magazines. Figure and Form in Contemporary Photography, Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, July 22 – October 14
LaChapelle confronts the hypocrisy and double standard regarding sexuality,
especially in America, striving to breach through the conservative approach Unnatural – Natural History, The Royal West of England Academy,
which accepts and encourages plastic surgery and remodeling the body based Bristol, UK, July 14 – September 23
on codes of beauty, while the transsexual language and sexchange operations
are still foreign and appalling to it. Everywhere and Nowhere, Villa Jauss, Oberstdorf, Germany, June 23 –
September 30
Of all people, he depicted Lepore in a tribute to "natural birth" to accentuate the
miracle, which is still a fantasy—the birth of a baby from the body of a THE HABERDASHERY, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, New
transsexual. York, May 26 June 18
The one who was born in a male body yet rejected it, fulfilled her dream and Making History, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Frankfurt,
became a woman, represents—despite the plasticity and artificiality of her body Germany, April 20 July 8
—an extraordinary truth and direct sincerity. LaChapelle depicts her in numerous
photographs: in one she is presented with her back to Michelangelo's David, the Group Show, Patricia Low Contemporary, St. Moritz, Switzerland,
ideal masculine form body; in another—as the figure of Marilyn Monroe, and in February 10 May 31
the famous photograph where she sniffs diamonds—as a model of radical
addiction to glamor. In the photograph Death by Hamburger, 2001, a giant 2011 Cocktail Culture, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL,
American burger, alluding to Claes Oldenburg's soft sculpture and the interplay December 15 April 15, 2012
of scale in Surrealism, strikes and crashes a slender girl, whose wellshaped
legs alone manage to escape the bear hug of the epitome of junk food. The Leonardo: Il Genio, il Mito, La Venaria, Turin, Italy, November 18, 2011
hamburger, however, is represented by blownup vinyl, in heightened February 19, 2012
exaggerated duplication, as synthetic as the greasy patty and as megalomaniac
as the aspirations of its makers. Vanity: Mode/Fotografie aus der Sammlung F.C. Gundlach
(Fashion/Photography from the F.C. Gundlach Collection), Kunsthalle
The criticism of some of the values consecrated in contemporary society—the Wien, Vienna, Austria, October 21 April 1, 2012
addiction to fast food, the worship of anorectic models of beauty, and their
destructive encounter—are conveyed via references to Pop and Surrealism, Daphne Guiness, The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology,
rather than by means of the original. LaChapelle, as an important documenter of New York, NY, September 16 January 7, 2012
Pop culture, also combines a note on Pop art in his approach, thereby infusing
this concept with a new meaning. The Lords and the New Creatures, Nye + Brown, Los Angeles, CA,
September 10 October 31
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the
Catwalk, The Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Montreal, Canada, June 2,
2011 – October 2, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, November
13, 2011 – February 12, 2012; De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA,
March 24 – August 19, 2012; The Fundación Mapfre–Instituto de
Cultura, Madrid, October 6, 2012 – January 6, 2013; Kunsthal
Rotterdam, Netherlands, February 9 – May 12, 2013; Swedish Center
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 8/12
About - David LaChapelle
for Architecture and Design, Stockholm, Sweden, June 17 – September
22, 2013; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, October 25, 2013 –
February 23, 2014; Barbican Gallery, London, UK, April 9 – August 25,
2014; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, October 15,
2014 – February 22, 2015; Grand Palais, Paris, France, March 29 –
August 3, 2015; Kunsthalle der HypoKultustifung, Munich, Germnay,
September 9, 2015 – January 10, 2016, Seoul, South Korea, March 25
June 30, 2016
Role ModelsRole Playing, Rudolf Budja Galerie, Salzburg, Austria,
June 2 – August 31
Beauty CULTure, The Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles,
CA, May 21 – November 27
Face Off: Portraits by Contemporary Artists, Lyman Allyn Art Museum,
New London, CT, April 10 – September 18
Borders and Frontiers: Collage and Appropriation in the Contemporary
Image, Oakland University Art Gallery, Rochester, MI, March 5 – April
10 [cat.]
Body Gestures, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzilya, Israel,
February 12 – May28
2010 Popular BRANDS, SYMBOLS, ICONS 1960—2010, Galerie Thomas
Modern, November 26 – February 19, 2011
Restart, Tavi Art Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 7 – November 4
Decadence Now! Visions of Excess, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague,
Czech Republic, October 4 – January 2, 2011
Divine Comedy, Sotheby’s, New York, NY, September 30 – October 19
Real Interface, Gana Art Busan, Busan, South Korea, July 30 – August
22
A Star Is Born. Photography and Rock since Elvis, Museum Folkwang,
Essen, Germany, July 2 – October 10
POP ART 1960’s – 2000’s from Misumi Collection, Iwate Museum of
Art, Morioka, Japan, May 25 – July 4
Pervasive Influence: The Mechanical Bride, Museum of Contemporary
Canadian Art, Toronto, Canada, May 1 – June 6
The First Western China International Art Biennial, Yinchuan Cultural
Art Centre, Yinchuan, China
Revealed: The Tradition of Male Homoerotic Art, Central Connecticut
Sate University, New Britain, CT, March 18 – April 22
ATOPIA: Art and City in the 21st Century, Centre de Cultura
Contemporània de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, February 25 – May 24
Knock Knock: Who’s There? That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, Fred
Torres Collaborations, New York, NY February 24 – May 15
2009 Fashion Room: Fotografien aus der Sammlung F.C. Gundlach
(Photographs from the F.C. Gundlach Collection), Städtische Galerie
Iserlohn, Iserlohn, Germany, November 27 – January 1, 2010
http://davidlachapelle.com/about/ 9/12
About - David LaChapelle
Rape of Africa, Galleria d’arte Moderna, Milan, Italy, November 11 –
December 9
Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History 1955 to the Present,
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, October 30 – January 31, 2010
Beauty Farm: La bellezza del corpo tra idealizzazione e ossessione,
Fondazione Durini – Palazzo Durini, Milan, Italy, October 28 –
November 12
Pop My Cherry, Patricia Low Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland,
September 17 – November 7
Naked!, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY, July 9 – September 19
America the Beautiful, StaleyWise Gallery, New York, NY, March 6 –
May 9
2008 Love Love Love, Martos Gallery, New York, NY, November 6 –
December 6
Reverb, Jablonka Galerie, Berlin, Germany, October 14 – January 31,
2009
Traumfrauen, Deichtorhallen – Haus der Photographie, Hamburg,
Germany, September 9 – November 9
Bad Planet, Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow, Russia, April 15 – May 14
Shoes!, GAVLAK, West Palm Beach, FL, February 12 – January 31
Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913 – 2008, National Portrait
Gallery, London, UK, February 14 – May 26, 2009; Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, October 26 – March 1, 2009
2007 Arte e Omosessualità: Da von Gloeden a Pierre et Gilles, Palazzina
Reale – Stazione di Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy, October 17 –
March 24, 2008; Palazzo della Ragione, Milano, Italy, July 9 –
November 11
Mode:Bilder, NRWForum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf, Germany,
October 17 – March 24, 2008
Collection très privée, Galerie Sandrine Mons, Nice, France
Fotonoviembre 2007: IX. Bienal Internacional de Fotografía, Tenerife
Espacio de las Artes – Centro de Fotografía Isla de Tenerife, Santa
Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Pop Art: 1960's 2000's: From Misumi Collection, The Museum of
Modern Art, Ibaraki; traveling to Hiroshima City Museum of
Contemporary Art; and Hachioji Yume Art Museum
An Instinctive Eye: A Selection of Contemporary Photographs from the
Sir Elton John Collection, PinchukArtCentre, Kiev, Ukraine, June 16 –
August 12
2006 Colleziona, Fondazione FORMA per la Fotografia, Milan, Italy,
December 15 – January 14, 2007
Men, War & Peace, Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin, Germany,
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About - David LaChapelle
December 2 – May 30, 2007
The Other Side #2: Radical Pursuits – Delights in the Subversive and
Sublime, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY
The Heartbeat of Fashion: Sammlung F.C. Gundlach, Deichtorhallen –
Haus der Photographie, Hamburg, Germany
Joy Pop!: Pop Art 1960’s – 2000’s. From Lichtenstein, Warhol to the
Current Generation, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art,
Tokyo, Japan
Kunstrai 2006, Galerie Alex Daniels – Reflex Modern Art Gallery,
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Rendezvous avec une femme, Galerie Adler, Paris, France
2005 Invito al Collezionismo, Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy
A Selection of Vintage and Contemporary Photographs, ArteF Fine Art
Photography Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland, November 16 – January 7
Passionate Image: The Body in Art and Advertising, Steven Kasher
Gallery, New York, USA
Here Now, Sims Reed Gallery, London, UK
From the Source, Corkin Gallery, Toronto, Canada, September 10 –
October 22
Beauty, Rudolf Budja Galerie – Artmosphere Galerien, Salzburg,
Austria
Fashion in Art: Art in Fashion, The Gallery in Cork Street, London, UK
Rene Magritte, Robert Williams, David LaChapelle, Tony Shafrazi
Gallery, New York, NY, January 15 – April 2
2004 Fashination, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, September 25 –
January 23, 2005
Love, Rudolf Budja Galerie – Artmosphere Galerien, Salzburg, Austria
Video: 25 Jahre Videoästhetik (25 Years of Video Aesthetics), NRW-
Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Düsseldorf, Germany, January 24 – April
18
2003 Invito alla Fotografia, Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy, December 13
– December 31
Looking for Leisure, StaleyWise Gallery, New York, NY, July – August
Troisieme Anniversaire: Collection Permanente, Acte2Galerie, Paris,
France
Vanity Fair, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2002 Buds, Blooms & Blossoms, StaleyWise Gallery, New York, NY May –
June
Archeology of Elegance: 1980–2000. 20 Jahre Modephotographie (20
Years of Fashion Photography), Deichtorhallen – Haus der
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About - David LaChapelle
Photographie, Hamburg, Germany, April 26 – September 8
Where is Elvis?: The Man and His Reflection, Howard Greenberg
Gallery, New York, NY
2001 New York, New York: Streetlife, Architecture and Personalities, Staley
Wise Gallery, New York, NY
2000 100 al 2000: Il Secolo della Fotoarte, Villa Impero, Bologna, Italy,
January 30 – April 29
A Century of Fashion, StaleyWise Gallery, New York, NY, October –
November
Chic Thrills: PopSurealism in Photography, Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam,
Netherlands
Femmes plus que femmes: Mulheres, sobretudo mulheres, Museu de
Arte Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil
1997 The Warhol Look: Glamour Style Fashion, The Whitney Museum of
American Art, New York, NY
1989 The Center Show, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
Community Center, New York, NY, June 1 – December 1
Don’t Bungle the Jungle: A Benefit Exhibition for the Rainforest, Tony
Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY
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