Self portraits
Self portrait, Daisy perfume, Ronda, by Juergen Teller, 2010
Juergen Teller (b. 1964, Erlangen, Germany) studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Photographie in Munich,
before moving to London in 1986. In the 90s his work featured in countless fashion magazines including The Face,
i-D, Purple and Index. In the two following decades his work saw a shift from fashion to the art world. Awarded with
the the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and the Special Presentation International Center of Photography
Infinity Award in 2018, his works carry an ethos of “hard-edged, often playful, occasionally brutal realism’ ( 2 )
This retrospective blends photographic genres and celebrity portraits in a thrilling unveiling which breaks away from
stylised and codified portraits of the famous, and instead reveals shockingly direct images of everyday life. Through
the realistic lens of Juergen Teller, the mythos of influencers in the public sphere is contrasted by intimate portraits
which reveal a private side to the celebrity. Spanning from the early 90s to the present day, this collection showcases
recognisable photographs alongside works from private collections.
Unguarded and candid, the images of Teller have been called ‘uncouth and confrontational.’ ( 3 Perhaps because of
this, Teller’s work has been behind some of the most compelling fashion advertisements. Namely, Marc Jacob’s
clothing line, and seasons of advertising for Yves saint Laurent. Often carelessly lit, his images shot with his infamous
point and shoot camera breathe a new life into the rigid conventions of fashion photography. In the midst of the
increasingly airbrushed digital age, he shows the wrinkles, roots, crooked teeth and scars of his models. Refreshingly
honest in his work, his unpolished photographs figurehead the style of a ‘grunge’ aesthetic, replicated by artists and
photographers alike in their shared quest for authenticity.
Wry, off-the-cuff and unapologetically ‘real’, Juergen Teller’s raw aesthetic stands out and inspires. This exhibition will
walk you through avant-garde portraits of the famous, candid shots that are seemingly unplanned and through a room
dedicated to sensory images. Never before displayed together, these images range from politically charged
depictions to gaze-capturing sensual, raw and stripped images. Brusque and realistic to the extreme, Teller’s work
blurs the boundaries between reality and construction.
Self-Portrait with Balloons, by Juergen Teller, Paris, 2017
Self-portrait of Teller for the Observer, by Juergen Teller, 2013
1. Poschardt, U. Beupre, M., D. et al.,(2003) Archaeology of Elegance, 1980-2000: 20 Years of
Fashion Photography. London. St Martins press (Unpaginated)
2. Smith, P (2003) The Throne, The rose The Haircut. Göttingen: Gerhard Steidl Druckerei & Verlag.
3. Newman, T. (2019). Legendary Artists and the Clothes They Wore. United States: Harper Design.
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