In this exhibition of color photography, David LaChapelle combines his genius for invention with the polish and elegance of highly sophisticated fashion photography. With a mix of vivid, intense color and surreal imagery, LaChapelle spins a joyful take on the contemporary social world that exists on the edge. LaChapelle has created a genre of exuberant, wittily erotic, exaggerated, totally original and often beautiful imagery where the celebrities, models and denizens of his bizarre world find themselves participating in zany activities with abandon.
The model Polina on a hospital gurney is ministered to by a quartet of clowns and displays silver ankle strap shoes. The model Rie in a cage wears a bunny mask with giant ears and shows off her shoes and handbag. In a Jurassic setting, an enormous Rhino gets friendly with Polina, who seems to care only for her gold stiletto boots. The wit and inventiveness LaChapelle brings to these images, which appeared in Italian Vogue, could only stem from the imagination of David LaChapelle.
David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1968 and was trained in fine art at North Carolina School of the Arts. Upon moving to New York City at age 19, he met Andy Warhol who offered him his first job shooting photographs for Interview Magazine. Since then his photographs have appeared in Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Vibe, i-D, The Face and British GQ, among others. His many awards include honors in the “Cover of the Year” category at the Eisies (1999), the “Applied Photography of the Year Award” from the International Center of Photography (1996), and “Best New Photographer of the Year” by French Photo and American Photo magazines (1995).