David LaChapelle: Still Life @Paul Kasmin Gallery

PRESS RELEASE

David LaChapelle: Still Life

November 26 – January 19, 2013

293 Tenth Ave & 515 West 27^th Street, New York
Opening Reception: Monday, November 26, 2012, 6 - 8pm

Paul Kasmin Gallery is pleased to present Still Life, an exhibition of new works by David LaChapelle, addressing the fleeting nature of humanity, fame, celebrity and power. On view at both Paul Kasmin Gallery locations in New York, this body of work began in 2009, when LaChapelle learned of the break-in and vandalism of the National Wax Museum in Dublin, Ireland, and was granted permission to photograph the destroyed figures. LaChapelle continued photographing figures at two additional wax museums – one in California and one in Nevada – to complete his vision of the collection. With subjects ranging from politicians such as Ronald Reagan, to celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Jackson, to the artist’s depiction of The Last Supper including Judas and Mary Magdalene, Still Life presents eerie compositions of dismembered icons. Still Lifeexpands on the idea of his earlier exhibition, Earth Laughs in Flowers, an exhibition of still life works exploring contemporary vanity, vice, the transience of earthly possessions, and the fragility of humanity.

LaChapelle draws on an immense lexicon of art historical references, current events, and popular culture, to make visually compelling images, each unique in their narrative and evocative content. LaChapelle’s work is included in numerous public and private collections and has been exhibited internationally at museums and institutions including the Museo de las Artes, Guadalajara; the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City; his first show in Asia at the MOCA, Taipei; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); The National Portrait Gallery, London; The Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin; The Brandhorst Museum, Munich; and the Kunsthaus Wien, Vienna. Among other prestigious prizes and awards, LaChapelle was recently named The American Friends of the Tel Aviv Museum of Arts “Artist of the Year.” The Fotographfiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden will present a retrospective of LaChapelle’s work November 2012 – March 2013. LaChapelle lives and works in Maui, Hawaii.

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