In this exhibition, the photographic works of Helmut Newton and Steven Klein are united because they both share an inclination for the erotic, the fetishistic, the humorous, and the glamorous – elements which have universal appeal. Helmut Newton has long been known as an icon of fashion photography and scandalized magazine readers in the 1970s and 1980s with his charged and witty depictions of sex and power. From the 1990s to the present, Steven Klein has taken up Newton’s baton with his equally provocative images while reflecting contemporary attitudes about beauty, gender, and sexuality. While both artists possess such distinctive styles that their very names can be used as descriptors, this exhibition unites two visionaries who are both unafraid of “the dark side,” resulting in bodies of work that command attention and expand the definitions of fashion photography.
