The mighty trio of photography in one exhibition: Mario Testino, Helmut Newton & Jean Pigozzi

“Undress”. “Unseen”. “Pool Party”. Could be the names of some cocktails. Or some movies just perfect for the summer. But, actually, these are the titles of the exhibitions put on stage at Helmut Newton Foundation Museum of Photography for this summer. And they mean Mario Testino, Helmut Newton, Jean Pigozzi. On 2 June 2017 the Berlin-based Helmut Newton Foundation (www.helmutnewton.com) will open its new exhibition Mario Testino. Undressed / Helmut Newton. Unseen / Jean Pigozzi. Pool Party. (Photo up – Jean Pigozzi
Naomi Campbell with Mick and Bono (the dogs) Antibes, 1993, © Jean Pigozzi)

What I am looking forward to see?

“Undressed” by Mario Testino is a site-specific installation comprising fashion and nude photos, with numerous unpublished studio portraits. Mario Testino explores the physical notion of undressing through work that analyses the boundaries between fashion, eroticism, anatomy and art. 50 larger-than-life images are affixed directly to the walls in three of the foundation’s exhibition halls, reaching into the corners of the room and up to the ceiling. This presentation form is unique to both Testino’s work as well as the exhibition history of the Helmut Newton Foundation, filling the rooms with bodies and emotions to create an imposing human landscape.

Mario Testino Philippe, Upstreet, Paris, 2000 © Mario Testino

Meanwhile, “Pool Party” by Jean Pigozzi is presented in June’s Room. This installation features small-format, snapshot-like images taken around Pigozzi’s swimming pool in Cap d’Antibes, where Helmut and June Newton, among other A-listers, came to unwind or frolic in glamour. The photographs feature the likes of Mick Jagger and Bono, Liz Taylor and Naomi Campbell – many of the same VIPs that Newton portrayed in his work.

Helmut Newton is represented by original prints in various formats from the three key genres of fashion, portraiture, and nudes. Selected from the foundation’s archive, they have for the most part not been previously shown. These complement Newton’s well-known work and include portraits of Jeremy Irons at the Ritz Hotel in London, Michael Gross at a swimming pool in Dortmund, as well as nudes taken at an Italian wine estate and for a ballet by Jan Fabre.

Helmut Newton / Heather looking through a keyhole, 1994 © Helmut Newton Estate

Helmut Newton / Sean Young, Pasadena, California, 1990 © Helmut Newton Estate

“Mario Testino. Undressed / Helmut Newton. Unseen / Jean Pigozzi. Pool Party” – from June 3rd to November 19th, 2017, at the Helmut Newton Foundation. For more information, visit www.helmutnewton.com. 

Photography: www.helmutnewton.com, Copyright Mario Testino

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