Mario Testino:
Superstar Automatic translate

For the first time in Russia, the Erarta Museum of Modern Art is hosting an exhibition of the works of fashion photography superstar Mario Testino, whose unique talent has conquered all the largest fashion houses, including Chanel and Gucci, has been appreciated by magazines from Vogue to Vanity Fair and has captivated many celebrities, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

Visitors to the Erarta Museum will be able to directly get acquainted with the phenomenon of Mario Testino, about which Karl Lagerfeld spoke of: “There is no other artist in the world of photography with such an unlimited passion for beauty.” The large-scale exhibition includes more than fifty large-format works created between 1996 and 2015. during portrait and fashion photo shoots with the participation of world stars, whose names are known to billions of people on the planet, but whose true essence it was managed to capture precisely the lens of Mario Testino. The feelings that arise when looking at a photograph by Mario Testino were perhaps best conveyed by Anna Wintour: “Has anyone ever managed to look more luxurious, regal, sexy, provocative or dazzling than in Mario’s pictures?”

The exhibition at the Erarta Museum offers many images that have become iconic and have caused powerful resonance over the past two decades. This is the cover of Madonna’s seventh studio album Ray of Light, and provocative shots of Kate Moss adorning billboards around the world, and a sensual portrait of Lady Gaga, and frank nudes Demi Moore and Gisele Bundchen, and incredibly lively and direct photo of laughing Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, and much, much more. A simple listing of the faces that can be seen at the Erart Museum exhibition - from supermodels Cara Delevingne, Natalia Vodianova and Naomi Campbell to first-rate Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet - sounds like a list of invitees to the most exclusive party in the world. Mario Testino always managed to reveal the stars to the extent that they were ready only in front of his camera, due to which a peculiar philosophy of the master was formed: since before his eyes there is something inaccessible to others, his duty is to show it to the world.

As Testino himself says, “an ideal fashion photo is capable of simultaneously being present in two realities: I would like to enjoy a fantasy that will be realistic enough to convince me of its reachability, tangible enough to make it seem like you are already practically in it but at the same time so beautiful that it involuntarily becomes clear that it can exist only in the photo. ” Erarta Museum will give every visitor a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in such a fantasy. The exhibition runs from May 31 to September 29, 2019. For owners of Subscriptions to the Erarta Museum, admission to the exhibition is free.

About Mario Testino:

Mario Testino was born in Lima (Peru) in 1954. His outstanding talent allowed him to swiftly go from an unknown student with a camera, who was forced to work as a waiter after moving to London in 1976, to one of the greatest world fashion photographers of all time and an honorary cavalier of the Order of the British Empire, who was granted him in 2014 for exceptional contribution to photography. Among the other awards of the master are the Peruvian Order of Merit (2010) and the Brazilian Tiradentis Medal (2007).

The works of Mario Testino were published in almost all the leading fashion magazines - Vogue, V Magazine, Vanity Fair, GQ, Allure and others. He created images for the advertising campaigns of major fashion brands, including Chanel, Burberry and Versace. In the mid-1990s, provocative advertisements with Tom Ford and Karin Roitfeld brought him special fame, contributing to the return of Gucci to the most influential fashion houses. Testimonials were posed by such world stars as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Jude Law, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga, and his long work with Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen are often credited with the merit of achieving their supermodel status. Among the most famous works of Testino is a series of photo portraits of Diana, Princess of Wales. Over the past two decades, the photographer has also been repeatedly entrusted with shooting the most memorable events in the life of the British royal family, for example, a photo shoot of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the occasion of their engagement in 2010.

In addition to photographing, Mario Testino at various times served as creative director and freelance editor of a number of publications, and his passion for art was reflected not only in his private collection, but also in the creation of the non-profit Museum Museo Mario Testino in Barranco, one of the districts of his native Lima.

Celebrities about Mario Testino:

“Has anyone ever managed to look more luxurious, regal, sexy, provocative or dazzling than in the pictures of Mario?” (Anna Wintour)

“When Mario photographs a world-class star, a meeting of equals takes place” (Anna Wintour)

“Nobody can give an exact definition of beauty. Beauty is experienced as a personal experience, which is confirmed only by the heart. That’s how I perceive the work of Mario ”(Karl Lagerfeld)

“The secret of Mario is that he makes you involuntarily imitate his own openness and thereby subjugates you to himself” (Sienna Miller)

“Testino has the gift of transforming celebrities and capturing myths on film. He is a true creator of images, people, and brands. ”(Malcolm Rogers, Former Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Mario Testino about himself:

“Fashion photography is the creation of images that can transfer the viewer to another reality.”

“When people try to criticize fashion photography, claiming that it is unrealistic and does not reflect real life, I feel bewildered. Well, of course, it’s unrealistic, that’s the whole point! ”

“At first, I was afraid of celebrities - and they, quite possibly, were just as afraid of my camera. It should be remembered that there is always some tension between the photographer and the model. To overcome my awkwardness, I began to photograph stars at various events, in a relaxed and realistic manner, sometimes just talking. Photographing in the process of communication allowed me to get closer to my models, which subsequently made portrait photo shoots more natural, direct and sincere. "I learned to shoot with the lightning speed of a cowboy, always holding his hand on the trigger."