For the first time in six years, David LaChapelle makes his return to China with “Scapes” and his works will be shown at the best possible match we could think of – Pearl Lam Galleries, opening September 9th.
The flamboyant eccentric just directed the campaign “Make Love Not Walls” for Diesel earlier this year. While pursuing his career in the late 80’s, the then 17-year-old LaChapelle was offered his first job by Andy Warhol to shoot for Interview Magazine, which exposed him to international publications and personalities.
Largely inspired by art history and pop culture, parts of LaChapelle’s work evoke classical motifs and contemporary art to provide alternative readings of iconic images. His After the Deluge series, inspired by Michelangelo’s Genesis-based fresco, depicts priceless masterpieces in water-flooded galleries. A similar clash between catastrophe and civilization reoccurs in Seismic Shift where a collection of the most sought-after contemporary artworks is depicted in the aftermath of an earthquake. For another significant work, LaChapelle portrayed his muse Amanda Lepore, the transgender icon, in the same signature style as Hollywood icons Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were for Andy Warhol’s prints from the 1960s, stating his demand for an unorthodox beauty and femininity.
If you happen to hit Shanghai for Shanghai Photo, that just opens it’s doors today, make sure not to miss this bang.
Images by Pearl Lam Galleries
