The Munich-based gallery IMMAGIS presents the latest solo show by American photographer Greg Gorman. Under the title The Outsiders, this special selection of Gorman’s most famous photographs of prominent musicians, visual artists, and actors, mostly hailing from the United States. Portraits of David Bowie, with whom Gorman worked for more than 15 years, as well as his long-time friend Grace Jones, are displayed alongside his images of Andy Warhol, Jerry Hall, Bryan Ferry, Sharon Stone, David Hockney, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson, Raquel Welch, and Michael Jordan, to name a few.
Greg Gorman (*1949, Kansas City, Missouri, USA) initially wanted to become a photojournalist, but found his true calling in 1968 when he took a picture of Jimi Hendrix during his concert in Kansas City. The photograph marked the start of his career as a celebrity photographer, lasting over 50 years. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts in 1968, Gorman began photographing actors and musicians. Many of his iconic black-and-white images would go on to appear on movie posters and CD covers, or grace the pages of magazines such as Life, Newsweek, Vogue, and Rolling Stone. Gorman’s photographs were featured more than 20 times on the cover of Andy Warhol’s Interview.
Parallel to his portraiture work, Gorman has also created a remarkable body of work in the area of nude photography. With his unique style characterized by sharp contrasts between shadow and light, he concentrates on the lines and contours of the face and body. The result is a classic aesthetic that combines the timeless beauty of human nature with erotic charisma.
Gorman’s images of David Bowie’s wife, Iman, Brigitte Nielsen, and male star models Tony Ward and Mickey Hardt are legendary.
For the first time, those powerful nudes will be complemented by a small number of Private Works, taken between 2000 and 2015. While Gorman’s approach to depicting the male body is similar to that in his commissioned works, the more intimate settings and varied approaches to lighting and color reveal further dimensions of Gorman’s skilled portraiture. Many of the photographs were shot during workshops the photographer has conducted around the world since 1988.
Greg Gorman: The Outsiders – Best of and beyond
Until May 11, 2019
IMMAGIS Fine Art Photography
Blütenstrasse 1
80799 Munich
