Exhibition Review: de PURY presents: Anton Corbijn
Virgil Abloh, Chicago, 2019 Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper. Mounted on Aluminium. 99.5 x 142 cm (image 82.5 x 125 cm) Edition of 5 plus 2 AP’s (#2/5) © Anton Corbijn
Written by Angelica Cantù Rajnoldi
Edited by Jana Massoud
The renewed auctioneer, art dealer and curator Simon de Pury presents a new not-to-be-missed exhibition dedicated to the work of one of the most innovative black and white portrait photographers, Anton Corbijn.
The exhibition will showcase the long photographic journey of the Dutch photographer, filmmaker, graphic designer and video artist through a selection of rarely seen photographs that make us approach to a portrait photography completely faithful to reality and its different universes.
Rick Owens, Paris, 2018 Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper. Mounted on Aluminium. 99.5 x 142 cm (image 82.5 x 125 cm) Edition of 5 plus 2 AP’s (#1/5) © Anton Corbijn
Born and raised in The Netherlands, he then moved to London in 1987 driven by love for UK music. He wanted to find a way to enter this world, and photography was the right answer.
Here, he started to take photographs of the most extraordinary rock, post-punk and new-wave musicians, such as David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Iggy Pop, The Depeche Mode, U2, Miles Davis. Then, the first collaborations with worldwide know magazines such as New Musical Express, Rolling Stone, Vogue.
Naomi Campbell, London, 1994 Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper. Mounted on Aluminium. 142 x 142 cm (image 125 x 125 cm) Edition of 5 plus 2 AP’s (#2/5) © Anton Corbijn
What has made him achieve success is undoubtedly the power of the sincerity of his portraits. Celebrities are portrayed in common, spontaneous attitudes. Their public image and notoriety seem to fade for a moment, leaving room for their more human side and their world. Perhaps, that’s why he has always preferred outdoor spaces rather that studio photoshoot, in this way detaching himself from the logic of many 80s’s magazines.
His approach to photography and palette of intense contrast and grit in black and white has extended beyond the music world, making him an acclaimed and original artist in the photography field.
Damien Hirst, Stroud, 2011 Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Paper. Mounted on Aluminium. 146 x 146 cm (image size 100 x 100cm) Edition of 6 plus 2 AP’s (#5/6) © Anton Corbijn
de PURY presents: Anton Corbjin will be available to view at The Hague, by appointment only from January 24 - February 28, and online at de-Pury.com. All works will be for sale, with many limited or final editions.
