As we launch into 2016, there are few better ways to feel inspired than checking out the wealth of photography exhibitions that are showing around the globe. Here are a few of the most eye-catching collections of photography to check out this year.
Head On Photo Festival
The Sydney-based Head On Foundation will be hosting its annual Head On Photo Festival from April 29 – May 22 this year.
“Head On Photo Festival is a bridge between Australian and international photographic markets. The festival has toured in America, China, India, Europe and New Zealand. The has introduced the international photographic elite to the wealth of photographic talent Australia possesses.”
Helmut Newton in Colour
German photographer Helmut Newton has influenced the fashion photography industry like few others have. A retrospective at the Museum of Photography, Berlin is showcasing colour photographs from his book Pages from the Glossies, first printed in 1998 and now being reprinted for this exhibition. Over 500 works will be shown in chronological order, beginning from his early works in the 1950s. The exhibition is open until May 22, 2016.
Mapplethorpe at LACMA
Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe made his mark on the fashion photography industry with his provocative and often controversial art. This year an extensive retrospective at LACMA, Los Angeles will showcase his drawings, sculptures, photographs and films. The exhibition will run from March 20 – July 31, 2016.
Counterculture Now
This year, Somerset House in London is celebrating the 500th anniversary of Thomas More’s influential work, Utopia. Somerset House will collaborate with King’s College London and the Courtald Institute of Art.
“Over the course of 2016 Somerset House, King’s College London and The Courtauld Institute of Art will be transformed into a space of possibility, participation and imagination around the themes of utopia, where people from all walks of life will be invited to experiment with new ways we might live, make, work and play. We will create physical and virtual spaces where positive visions are nurtured, supported and celebrated, and where anything is possible.”
As part of the celebration, a new exhibition entitled Counterculture Now will focus on counterculture in the 21st century and will feature an array of photography, art and fashion.
New Matter
Coming to the Art Gallery of NSW in September, this exhibition will explore photography and its material limits, featuring a range of re-composition and post-production techniques as well as alternative printing processes. It will showcase work by Australian and international photographers, including Jacqueline Ball, Walead Beshty, Matthew Brandt, Cherine Fahd, Justine Varga. The event will run from September 2016 – January 2017.
Never Mind the Sex Pistols
Snap Galleries, London is showcasing the work of Parisian photographer Pierre Benain in this punk-rock inspired exhibition, with photographs from the heart of London’s punk scene. The images feature the likes of the Sex Pistols, Nancy Spungen, Don Letts and Poly Styrene. The exhibition is open until March 5, 2016.
David Hurn: The 1960s
Prominent photographer David Hurn is exhibiting at The Magnum Print Room, London until January 31, 2016. The exhibition features work spanning the remarkable moments of the decade, from anti-war protests to portraits of icons and from coastal London to inner-city Manhattan.
“Life as it unfolds in front of the camera is full of so much complexity, wonder and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as-they-are.”
– David Hurn
Julia Margaret Cameron: Influence and Intimacy
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of her birth, The Science Museum, London is showcasing 94 images by pioneering photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. The exhibition features portraits from the Herschel Album, which Cameron created as a gift for her friend and scientist Sir John Herschel. Influential figures captured in the album include William Holman Hunt and Alfred Tennyson. The exhibition also includes her photographs taken in Sri Lanka, her camera lens and handwritten notes from her autobiography. The exhibition will run until March 28, 2016.
“I longed to arrest all beauty that came before me, and at length the longing has been satisfied.” – Julia Margaret Cameron