The ICA is delighted to present a major solo exhibition of photography by Juergen Teller. The exhibition marks the first survey presentation of Teller’s work in the UK in a decade and will include new work. Considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, Teller is one of the few artists who has been able to operate successfully both in the art world and at the centre of the commercial sphere. Teller entered the London photography scene through the music industry taking photographs for record covers. Photographing amongst others Björk, Cocteau Twins, PJ Harvey and Courtney Love, it was Teller’s photograph of Sinéad O’Connor for her single Nothing Compares 2 You that marked an important moment in his career. In 1991 he photographed Nirvana back stage when they toured Germany. Teller’s photographs first appeared in fashion magazines in the late 80s, and included portraits of Kate Moss when she was just fifteen years old. It was also in the early 1990s that Teller shot behind the scenes at Helmut Lang’s fashion shows capturing the models, clothes and atmosphere with a deceptively casual aesthetic. Teller’s images could be described as the antithesis of conventional fashion photography as seen perhaps most markedly in his campaigns for Marc Jacobs. 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 emotional honesty.
Juergen Teller was born in Erlangen, Germany in 1964. He studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt fur Photographie in Munich, and has lived and worked in London since 1986. In 2003, Teller was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography, and, in 2007 was asked to represent the Ukraine as one of five artists in the 52nd Venice Biennale. He has also participated in group shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Tate Modern, London.
EXHIBITION
Juergen Teller: Woo
23 January – 17 March 2013
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Mall
London, SW1Y 5AH
United Kingdom
