Juergen Teller is considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, he is one of the few contemporary artists who has successfully navigated both the art world and the world of commercial photography. The exhibition at the ICA, London will provide a seamless journey through Teller’s landmark fashion and commercial photography from the 90s, presenting classic images of celebrities such as Lily Cole, Kurt Cobain and Vivienne Westwood, as well as his most recent work featuring landscapes and intimate family portraits.
Teller’s provocative interventions in portraiture subvert the conventional relationship of the artist and model. Whatever the setting, all his subjects collaborate in a way that allows for the most surprising poses and emotional intensity. Driven by a desire to tell a story in every picture he takes, Teller has shaped his own distinct and instantly recognizable style which combines humour, self-mockery and an emotional honesty.
Juergen Teller: Woo will include a section titled Picture and Words, featuring a series of photographs from Teller’s controversial weekly column in the magazine of Die Zeit, which often provoked outcry amongst readers, and will feature many of the letters of complaint that the magazine received. Also on view are Irene im Wald and Keys to the House, Teller’s most recent bodies of work, which reveal a more personal side to the photographer, including images of his hometown in Germany and family home in Suffolk.
Juergen Teller was born in 1964 in Erlangen, Germany, and studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Photographie in Munich, before moving to London in 1986. Recent solo exhibitions include Touch Me, at Le Consortium, Dijon (2010) and Daelim Museum, Korea (2011); Man with Banana, Dallas Contemporary, Texas, curated by Peter Doroshenko (2011); and Irene Im Wald, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn (2012), among others. In 2012, renowned curator Francesco Bonami organized Juergen Teller’s first solo exhibition in Italy. Installed in the majestic reserve apartments of the Palazzo Reale, The Girl With the Broken Nose comprised nine photographs of monumental proportion. Each measuring six feet by ten feet, the works on view were the artist’s largest to date.
Teller was the recipient of the 1993 Photography Prize at Festival de la Mode, Monaco, and the 2003 recipient of the Citibank Photography Prize in association with the Photographer’s Gallery, London. In 2007, Teller represented the Ukraine as one of five artists in the 52nd Venice Biennale.
Teller’s work is included in numerous collections around the world, including the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris; International Center for Photography, New York; Pinchuk Art Centre, Kiev; and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, among many others.
Juergen Teller Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, on view from 23 January - 17 March 2013.
Photo: Vivienne Westwood No.3, London, 2009.