RICHARD AVEDON “RELATIONSHIPS”
One hundred and six images, illustrating more than sixty years in the career of one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.
September 22, 2022 to January 29, 2023, Palazzo Reale in Milan
Sponsored by Comune di Milano – Cultura, and produced and organized by Palazzo Reale and Skira Editore in collaboration with the Center for Creative Photography and the Richard Avedon Foundation, the exhibition is curated by Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator of the Center for Creative Photography collection, with Versace as main partner, and Vogue Italia as media partner.
The works on display enable visitors to explore the innovative aspects of Avedon’s art, which made him one of the most influential creative giants of the 20th century. On the one hand, he revolutionized the way models are photographed, turning them into actresses who were the main focus of a set, instead of static subjects, and showing their human side, while on the other hand his amazing, and often large-format, black and white portraits of celebrities reveal the more psychological side of the sitters.
A whole section is devoted to the collaboration between Richard Avedon and Gianni Versace, which began with the campaign for the 1980 spring/summer collection that marked the fashion designer’s debut, and continued right up to the campaign for the 1998 spring/summer collection, the first by Donatella Versace.
Avedon's work for Versace shows how the unique relationship that is sometimes created between a designer and a photographer can produce images that occupy a timeless dimension, going way beyond the confines of the specific context linked to the seasonal nature of fashion that they were originally intended for, and revolutionizing its global narration.
Avedon’s particular gaze made him one of the few photographers able to interpret Gianni Versace’s cutting-edge talent, capturing the Italian designer’s style and elegance, as well as the radical nature of his fashion.
The photographer’s abstract language functions in a compressed space that accentuates the figures, making them absolute, and creates explosive choreographies with the bodies of some of the most celebrated top models of the day, through unrestrained, syncopated movements that highlight the forms and textures of the clothes. This can be seen in the campaign for the 1993 spring/summer collection, featuring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Aya Thorgren, and Shalom Harlow.
The exhibition is divided into ten sections: The Artist, The Premise of the Show, Early Fashion, Actors and Directors, Visual Artists, Performing Artists / Musicians and Writers / Poets, Avedon’s People, Politics, Late Fashion, Versace. However, it hinges on the two most characteristic aspects of Avedon’s work: fashion photographs and portraits.