Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes"

The FotoNostrum gallery presents "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes", the first exhibition in Spain that delves into the universe of the American photographer Richard Avedon. The exhibition, curated by designer Joanna Mastroianni, brings together photographs by Gideon Lewin, a great collaborator with Avedon for more than 16 years, taking photos for the best fashion magazines of the time, such as Harper's Bazaar or Vogue.

The exhibition, which is a world premiere, consists essentially of 130 Lewin photographs of the making of some of Avedon's most iconic images, as well as 13 of his original photographs. The result is a vivid documentation of his fashion career, studio life, and his personal view of the world.

Joanna Mastroianni researched and studied thousands of images from contact sheets and negatives, after decades of being stored in filing cabinets. These images make up Gideon Lewin's acclaimed first book, Avedon Behind The Scenes 1964-1980, and are now being shown for the first time in the exhibition.

“It is my pleasure to share with you my private collection of unique behind-the-scenes images created by my life partner Gideon Lewin during his sixteen years in one of the most prolific and exciting studios with one of photography's greatest masters: Richard Avedon.”

Joanna Mastroianni.

Gideon Lewin has worked with Richard Avedon as studio manager and master printer in charge of the photo developing laboratory. The result of this close relationship was the development of innovative techniques, such as solarization, used in the iconic images of The Beatles that Avedon took in 1967.

The exhibition is a reflection of the fusion of the worlds of fashion and photography in a unique and unrepeatable way. Among, the photographs in the collection are many showing supermodel Veruschka's lavish fur photo shoot for Vogue, shot in Japan in 1966.

Description of project by Joanna Mastroianni

Barcelona, July 20, 2022.- FotoNostrum presents Richard Avedon Behind the Scenes, the first exhibition in Spain on the figure of Avedon. The exhibition, which is a world premiere, is made up of photographs by Gideon Lewin, Avedon's studio manager, of the making of some of her most iconic images, as well as original photographs by Richard Avedon from the designer's private collection Joanna Mastroianni, curator of the exhibition.

"It is my pleasure to share with you my private collection of unique behind-the-scenes images created by my life partner Gideon Lewin during his sixteen years in one of the most prolific and exciting studios with one of photography's greatest masters: Richard Avedon. ", explains Joanna Mastroianni.

Mastroianni researched and studied thousands of images from contact sheets and negatives, bringing them to life after decades of being stored in filing cabinets. By her own admission, it took many years to convince Gideon to share them with the world, as he felt they reflected private moments. These images make up Gideon Lewin's acclaimed first book, Avedon Behind The Scenes 1964-1980, and are now being shown for the first time in an exhibition.

The shows are a visual journey through a sixteen-year collaboration, including the first portrait of a young Richard Avedon in 1965, and are a vivid documentation of fashion magazine shoots as well as life in the studio.

Veruschka's photo shoot in Japan
Among the photographs are many firsts that show the innovative nature of this Avedon-Lewin creative collaboration. For example, supermodel Veruschka's lavish fur photo shoot for Vogue (October 1966), shot in snowy Japan for five weeks and said to be the most epic in fashion history. fashion. The result is a set of images that revolutionized and merged the worlds of fashion and photography in a unique and unrepeatable way.

In October 1966, photographer Richard Avedon arrived in "Hell Valley" on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where sulfur seeps from the rock face to create plumes of smoke. Avedon was there for a Vogue photo shoot with model Veruschka and a seven-foot-tall sumo wrestler. The resulting photographs were published as part of a 26-page odyssey that fashion editor Polly Mellen referred to as "the longest, most lavish and most expensive photo shoot in history." Looking back, Veruschka would later say of Avedon, "I was always very aware that I was working with the best photographer in the world."

Gideon Lewin had triple duty: he was the on-site technician, fixing stuck cameras; the first assistant, lighting subjects with a pair of battery-powered strobes; and the unofficial behind-the-scenes documentarian, who captures Veruschka looking out the window of the Tokyo bullet train, while Mellen adjusts the model's fur coat and Avedon jumps for joy amidst the sulfur vapor.

Read less

Richard Avedon and Susy Parker. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Lauren Hutton. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Veruschka, Polly, Ara. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Polly and Patti on set. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Photo shoot in Baja California. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Avedon and Sumo in snow. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Masterclass. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph by Gideon Lewin

Portrait of Gideon Lewin. Fotonostrum presents the exhibition "Richard Avedon, Behind The Scenes". Photograph courtesy of Joanna Mastroianni

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More information

Label

Artist - Photographer

Text

Richard Avedon.

Label

Curators

Text

Joanna Mastroianni.

Label

Dates

Text

21.07 > 02.10.2022.

Label

Location

Text

Calle Diputació, 48. 08015 Barcelona, Spain.

Label

Photography

Text

Gideon Lewin.

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon (1923–2004) was born and lived in New York City. His interest in photography began at a young age and he joined the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) photography club when he was twelve years old. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he co-edited the school's literary magazine, The Magpie, with James Baldwin. He was named Poet Laureate of the New York City High Schools in 1941.

Avedon joined the armed forces in 1942 during World War II, serving as a photo mate second class in the US Merchant Marine. As he described it, “My job was to take ID photos. I must have taken pictures of a hundred thousand faces before it occurred to me that I was becoming a photographer."

After two years of service, he left the Merchant Navy to work as a professional photographer, initially creating fashion images and studying with art director Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research's Design Laboratory. At age 22, Avedon began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper's Bazaar. Initially he photographed models and fashion on the streets, in nightclubs, at the circus, on the beach and in other unusual places, employing a creativity that soon became a hallmark of his art. Under Brodovitch's tutelage, he quickly became the lead photographer for Harper's Bazaar.

From the beginning of his career, Avedon made formal portraits for publication in Theater Arts, Life, Look, and Harper's Bazaar magazines, among many others. He was fascinated by photography's ability to suggest personality and evoke the lives of its subjects. He recorded poses, attitudes, hairstyles, clothing and accessories as vital and revealing elements of an image.

Avedon's first museum retrospective was held at the Smithsonian Institution in 1962. Many major museum exhibitions followed, including two at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1978 and 2002), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts ( 1970), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (1985), and the Whitney Museum of American Art (1994). His first book of photographs, Observations, with an essay by Truman Capote, was published in 1959. He continued to publish books of his works throughout his life, including Nothing Personal in 1964 (with an essay by James Baldwin), Portraits 1947– 1977 (1978, with an essay by Harold Rosenberg), An Autobiography (1993), Evidence 1944–1994 (1994, with essays by Jane Livingston and Adam Gopnik), and The Sixties (1999, with interviews by Doon Arbus). In addition, he established the Richard Avedon Foundation.

Avedon died of a brain hemorrhage while working for The New Yorker, in San Antonio, Texas, on October 1, 2004.

Joanna Mastroianni

Joanna Mastroianni launched her namesake brand more than 30 years ago in New York. Mastroianni studied fashion at the F.I.T. and at the Parson School of Design, and has created a brand recognized for its modernity, quality and luxury, which is sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Moda Operandi, among other fashion stores and chains.

Joanna Mastroianni is a regular at New York Fashion Week and has many friends in the world of fashion and entertainment such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Iris Apfel and Lenny Kravitz. His designs were part of the costumes for Sex and the City 2 and have appeared in fashion reports for Vogue, GQ, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, etc.

As a long-time black and white collector, Joanna has developed a deep understanding of the image before photography was considered one of the fine arts. The personal relationship with many artists has inspired his photography collection that spans more than 40 years and is focused on the relationship between fashion and photography. Her first commission as a curator is the culmination of many years of research and a special relationship with artists and historians.

Gideon Lewin

Gideon Lewin was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, majoring in photography and advertising. As a renowned photographer, he has worked for 40 years with American and European fashion designers in advertising, promotions and books, as well as beauty campaigns for Clairol, Revlon, Colgate and Mirabella. She has also signed editorials for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Avenue, Lear's, Elle, Lifestyles and Travelgirl magazines. Lewin's portraits include many celebrities and prominent personalities in politics and the arts. He has collaborated on Unmistakably Mackie: The Fashion and Fantasy of Bob Mackie, and fashion books with Bill Blass and others.

A retrospective of his work was presented by the Museum of Photography in Mougins, France, and a solo one, Platinum Nudes, at the Neuhoff Gallery, New York. Early in his career, Lewin was Richard Avedon's studio manager and right-hand man for 16 years, a job that he has turned into the book Avedon Behind the Scenes, published by Powerhouse. In addition, Gideon has overseen four major and prestigious museum exhibitions for Avedon, including the first fashion show at the Metropolitan in New York in 1978.

Published on: July 31, 2022

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