The exhibition at the Starmach Gallery is a survey of the achievements of Walter Pfeiffer – one of the most interesting fashion photographers of the 20th century. It portrays his oeuvre from a somewhat unexpected angle – not by showing the fashion sessions he shot, but by focusing on his more intimate pictures, which nonetheless influenced the aesthetics of fashion photography in the 1990s. In the Swiss artist’s photographs we most often see people who were close to him, his friends and lovers, but also passers-by encountered in the street. Naked male bodies in erotic situations, beautiful boys at work, landscapes and close-ups of faces: in all his images Pfeiffer seeks beauty that lies beyond the classical canons. In the ‘70s his works often shocked critics by the directness with which they represented homosexuality, manifested in a daring way of looking at men’s bodies. 

Initially, photographs served as material for Pfeiffer’s sketches and paintings, while later Polaroid pictures became his favourite technique. His works are often compared to the photos of Nan Goldin and Noboyoshi Araki because of their similarly intimate climate. In this exhibition we are dealing with personal stories about sex, friendship, and strangeness.

  

Photographer, illustrator and video artist. Has been producing artworks since the 1970s, publishing his pictures in many fashion magazines and albums. His photographs have recently been collected in two books: Walter Pfeiffer: In Love with Beauty (2009) and Walter Pfeiffer: Scrapbooks 1969–1985 (2012).

 

Place:

Starmach Gallery

ul. Węgierska 5

Vernissage: 17.05.2013, 18:00

Open: 18.05–21.06; DAILY 11:00–18:00,

CLOSED 30.05–2.06 & 8, 9.06

FREE ENTRY