“Albert Watson”
Lumiere Gallery
October 10, 2024 – March 16, 2025
On October 10, 2024, the Lumiere Gallery will inaugurate the exhibition “Albert Watson”, dedicated to the celebrated Scottish photographer and master of contemporary photography. The exhibition will be housed at the gallery’s location on Bolshaya Polyanka and will present a broad selection of the artist’s work, spanning the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This includes iconic portraits of prominent figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, Kate Moss, Uma Thurman, Michael Jackson, and others.
The exhibition will feature 16 of Watson’s most renowned prints, encompassing both commissioned and personal projects.
Among the works in fashion photography, the exhibition will showcase large-scale prints produced for renowned brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Lanvin, and Issey Miyake. Additionally, the display will include experimental photographs inspired by explorations of form (“Gail Elliot, New York,” 1989) and the aesthetics of surrealism (“Suvi Koponen, New York,” 2019).
In particular, the exhibition will highlight a work from a private collection, “Michael Jackson, New York City” (1999), which was created in conjunction with the release of Jackson’s album Invincible and his 1999 concert tour.
A key feature of the exhibition will be unique contact sheets of Alfred Hitchcock holding a Christmas goose, titled “Hitchcock with Goose. Contact” (1973). These photographs, taken by a young Watson for Harper’s Bazaar, accompanied a feature on Hitchcock’s signature goose recipe. Another photograph, “Monkey with Gun. Contact. New York City”(1992), provides insight into Watson’s creative process and has become one of his hallmark works.
The image “Kate Moss, Sun & Henna, Marrakech, Morocco” (1993) was captured at a villa in Morocco for German Vogue and coincided with Kate Moss’s 19th birthday. The photograph “Uma Thurman with Samurai Sword, New York City” (2003) is an unpublished piece from a shoot for the poster and promotional campaign for Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill.
Beginning his career with a background in graphic design and film, by the mid-1970s Watson had produced over 200 covers for Vogue and 40 for Rolling Stone. His distinctive style is characterized by a masterful command of composition and light, hyperrealism, and profound emotional depth. Combining the expressive power of visual art, the aesthetics of glossy magazines, and sharp commercial acumen, Watson has collaborated with Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle,and many other publications and brands. Over the course of his more than 50-year career, Watson has devoted substantial time to personal creative projects. He has published over five books on his work (the most recent, Albert Watson: Creating Photographs, was released in 2021) and continues to conduct workshops and exhibitions worldwide. His works are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, UK), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA), the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK), the Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), and the Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA).
“Collaborating with international photographers remains a key focus for the Lumiere Gallery. Each year, we secure exclusive representation agreements in Russia with both emerging stars of the photography scene and legendary masters. Despite the challenges faced globally, we continue to serve as an international platform, maintaining strong business relations within the art world,” said Natalia Grigorieva-Litvinskaya, the gallery’s chief curator and founder.
The exhibition at the Lumiere Gallery will mark Albert Watson’s fourth project in Russia, following successful retrospectives in 2015 and 2019, presented as part of the Moscow Biennale “Fashion and Style in Photography,” as well as his 2010 solo exhibition supported by Capital Group and the Moscow House of Photography.
The exhibition will be open from October 10, 2024, to March 16, 2025, at Bolshaya Polyanka. Visitors are welcome to attend as part of guided tours at the Lumiere Gallery.