On the occasion of Gallery Weekend Berlin, gallerist Anna Kimmerle of AK Galerie Berlin is presents the British-Maltese photographer Lorenzo Agius and the German- American artist Izzy Weissgerber in a collaboration titled ICONIC, set against the historic backdrop of the St. Elisabeth-Kirche in Berlin. The exhibition invites viewers to rediscover the boundaries between artistic genres and offers a space for dialogue on the creation of images in the modern age.
Lorenzo Agius, who has shaped the visual language of international fashion and celebrity culture for decades, is renowned for his intimate portraits of global icons such as Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, and Valentino. For him, a portrait is a dance with the subject – an exchange and a moment of intimacy, emotion, and trust. His lens lingers on the human tension beneath the surface: the precise moment where glamour breaks just enough to reveal something real.
Izzy Weissgerber’s practice, by contrast, is rooted in instinct, gesture, and emotional intervention. Working across painting, mark-making, and mixed media, she sees images as living entities, using them to emphasize what is present, adjust the emotional temperature, or introduce vulnerability. Rather than venerating the photographic image, she engages with it in dialogue.
For gallerist Anna Kimmerle, the tension of the exhibition exists precisely in this intersection: Agius’s composed beauty contrasts with Weissgerber’s visceral impulse. The resulting works are neither purely photographic nor solely painterly. The images act as landscapes negotiation between permanence and erosion, control and surrender, visibility and concealment.
Weissgerber’s interventions don`t hide Agius`s photographs. Instead, they add complexity, introducing new emotional layers, fresh perspectives and innovative viewpoints. This shared authorship gives the work its emotional depth and vitality, creating a third language that neither artist could have achieved alone.
In an era of visual overload, ICONIC aims to evoke genuine emotional resonance in the viewer. Anna Kimmerle describes the core of Agius and Weissgerber’s work as “presence”. A moment of being emotionally recognized rather than merely visually impressed. The work exists in-between space where beauty, vulnerability, strength, and mystery coexist. Both artists are united by a belief in the power of the image and art as a vehicle for emotional, cultural and psychological significance.
Lorenzo Agius is an internationally renowned portrait photographer whose work has significantly shaped the visual culture of film, fashion, and contemporary art since the 1990s. With a background in fine art and a distinctly cinematic sensibility, Agius understands photography not as mere documentation, but as a dialogue – between subject and camera, between light, presence, and emotion.
His portraits are characterized by precision, restraint, and a remarkable sense of intimacy with his subjects. Even when working with globally recognized figures, Agius succeeds in revealing moments of vulnerability, humor, and quiet intensity. Rather than seeking spectacle, he pursues resonance and depth, directing the viewer’s gaze beyond fame and staging toward the human dimension.
Agius achieved his international breakthrough with iconic portraits of Ewan McGregor and the cast of Danny Boyle’s film Trainspotting, which early on demonstrated his ability to distill cultural moments into powerful photographic images. During the 1990s, he played a defining role in shaping the visual identity of British pop culture (“Cool Britannia”) through his work with figures such as Liam Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, the Spice Girls, Blur, and Blondie, including the well-known Vanity Fair cover featuring Gallagher and Kensit.
Today, Lorenzo Agius’ works are held in major public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, as well as MUŻA – National Museum of Art and the Spazju Kreattiv Archive in Malta. He is regarded as one of the defining portrait photographers of his generation and continues to work internationally with editorial, film, and commercial clients.
Izzy Weissgerber is a Berlin-based artist whose bold, minimal Pop Art portraits are powered by the rare phenomenon of synesthesia. Born to an American mother and German father, Weissgerber experiences each person as a unique color and number an unseen code that becomes the foundation of her work. Her portraits conceal the eyes to protect the soul, allowing the subject’s true energy to emerge, raw and radiant.
In 2008, Andy Warhol muse Joe Dallesandro discovered her work and was so captivated by its power that he commissioned a portrait. The piece appeared on the cover of Punk Globe Magazine, a defining moment that launched Weissgerber onto the international stage.
Over the past two decades, Weissgerber has exhibited internationally and built a loyal following among influential private collectors. Her work is known for its clarity, force, and emotional resonance art that doesn’t ask to be noticed, but demands it.
LORENZO AGIUS AND IZZY WEISSGERBER : ICONIC
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN CONTROL AND SURRENDER
May 1 – 3, 2026
Gallery Weekend Berlin
St. Elisabeth-Kirche
Invalidenstraße 3
10115 Berlin, Germany
https://www.gallery-weekend-berlin.de/
Anna Kimmerle – AK Galerie Berlin is
www.akgalerie.eu
