VISUAL ARTS

Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, politicians such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, sports icons Kobe Bryant and Andre Agassi, pop-idols such as Chris Rock and even it-girl Paris Hilton show that they are not afraid of "opening up" for Martin Schoeller and his camera. This exhibition presents 48 arresting large-format color images – many of which are Schoeller’s most famous celebrity portraits. The images challenge the viewer to question topics such as self-representation, celebrity, photographic honesty, as well as the impressive explanatory power of portrait photography. Furthermore, the portrayed provoke the observer to compare the individuals' appearance as communicated through the media with the viewer's own impressions and experiences.
New York-based photographer Schoeller worked as an assistant for Annie Leibovitz in the 1990s and began working for the New Yorker in 1999, where he gained recognition for his inspired photographic contributions to feature articles. His most famous work, and the subject of this exhibition, was developed when he began as a portrait photographer. In his close-up, “de-famed” portraits of celebrities, politicians, and unknown but intriguing faces, using the same lighting from the same angle, Schoeller achieves a unity of expression that brings out the personality and individuality of his subjects. It is in these portraits that the truth within his subjects, their surface and inner expressions, is most clearly revealed. This exhibition is organized by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions.