Presented in three parts, this exhibition highlights three recent series, demonstrating Teller’s dynamic and diverse oeuvre. Featuring the controversial photographs of Kristen McMenamy and seductive portraits of Vivienne Westwood, juxtaposed with intimate portraits of his family and close friends... Read more
Presented in three parts, this exhibition highlights three recent series, demonstrating Teller’s dynamic and diverse oeuvre. Featuring the controversial photographs of Kristen McMenamy and seductive portraits of Vivienne Westwood, juxtaposed with intimate portraits of his family and close friends, this exhibition displays an amalgam of subjects and personalities. The exhibition starts with Teller’s controversial series of photographs featuring Kristen McMenamy, shot in the home of Carlos Mollino. Drawing inspiration from the eccentric architect, Teller recalls Mollino’s fascination with the erotic, capturing McMenamy in provocative poses. Although the series garnered controversy for its alleged “pornographic” nature, it demonstrates Teller’s skilled storytelling and fearless approach to his medium.
The exhibition continues with a selection of images from “Keys to the House.” Composed of recent photographs taken in and around his home in Suffolk, the series includes deserted landscape shots alongside intimate portraits of Teller’s family and closest friends.
The third section of the exhibition features photographs from “Men and Women,” including portraits of Vivienne Westwood and photographer William Eggleston, as well as Teller’s son, Ed. As a whole, the series has been read as a representation of masculinity at two stages –coming of age and loss of virility – contrasted with a strong feminine power.
Born in Erlangen, Germany in 1964, Juergen Teller studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Photographie in Munich, Germany before moving to London in 1986. His work in influential international publications such as W Magazine, I-D and Purple nurtured his own photographic sensibility, which is marked by his refusal to separate the commercial fashion pictures and his most autobiographical un-commissioned work. Juergen Teller has been working with Marc Jacobs on his advertising campaigns for the past 14 years and in 2009, Steidl collated the work, publishing “Marc Jacobs Advertising 1998 – 2009.” Teller has also had long collaborations with other designers and fashion houses over the years including Helmut Lang, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood.
Teller has exhibited at The Photographers Gallery, London (1998); the Kunsthalle Wien (2004); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2004); the Fondation Cartier Pour l’art Contemporain, Paris (2007); the Tate Modern, London (2008); Le Consortium, Dijon (2010); Daelim Museum, South Korea (2011); Man with Banana, at Dallas Contemporary, Texas (2011); Texte und Bilder, at Brukenthal Museum, Romania (2011). In 2003 Teller was awarded the Citibank Prize and in 2007 represented Ukraine as one of five artists in the 52nd Venice Biennale. Juergen Teller lives and works in London, England.
