For artist Chris Levine, Andy Warhol is always watching. A genuine self-portrait by the great Pop artist gazes out from the wall of Levine's studio in Hampshire, given to him by a collector after learning that Warhol was a huge inspiration. "He said I could have one if I wanted. I thought he was joking, but a few weeks later he turned up with a big roll. It´s been looking at me."
And Warhol's fingerprints are all over Levine's latest project, commissioned by The London Standard: a series of arresting, colourful portraits of great artists to mark the start of Frieze London 2024.
Levine, who famously photographed Queen Elizabeth II, Kate Moss and Grace Jones all with their eyes shut, told the latest sitters he was indeed channelling my inner Warhol ahead of the shoots. "They were all OK with that. We all love a bit of Warhol. If he was alive today, I would have loved to have photographed him."
Using the Danish Church near Regent's Park as a studio, he photographed Cornelia Parker, David Shrigley, Daniel Lismore, Yinka Shonibare, Rana Begum and Rachel Whiteread, and then later Gilbert and George, for the images in this edition. They will also be displayed at the Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane until the end of the month.
"It was an interesting, unexpected project," Levine says when we catch up for a chat. "I've often thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to shoot some of the greats?" And it went so well he now wants to expand the series.
During the sessions, he asked each sitter to relax and then gave them the shutter release to take the shot when they were still, jokingly coming up with the term inner selfie. "I wanted to capture them, their inner light, their beauty, the beauty of their individuality. It wasn't posing or trying to be something they're not."
Denne historien er fra October 10, 2024-utgaven av The London Standard.
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Denne historien er fra October 10, 2024-utgaven av The London Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prÞveperiode pÄ Magzter GOLD for Ä fÄ tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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