Ellen von Unwerth. Devotion! 30 Years of Photographing Women

Ellen von Unwerth Devotion! 30 Years of Photographing Women
14.12.2019 - 29.03.2020

Renowned German photographer Ellen von Unwerth presents Devotion! 30 Years of Photographing Women, a survery exhibition shown at Fotografiska Stockholm, now significantly expanded for New York. Devotion! explores von Unwerth’s provocative yet playful photography through seven expressions: Play, Gender, Drama, Love, Power, Passion, and Lust. Each image, characteristic of von Unwerth’s style, reflects lively, energetic, sensual style with a slight humorous touch. For the artist, it’s never about objectifying, rather, playing with archetypes and stereotypes, high and low, stirring emotions and creating commotion.

Ellen von Unwerth, born 1954 in Germany, gained wide attention with her sensual Guess campaign in the early 1990s, followed by campaigns for Absolut, Agent Provocateur, A.P.C., Aston Martin, Baccarat, Belvedere, Chanel, Chantal Thomass, Crazy Horse, David Morris, Diesel, Dior, Elisabetta Franchi, Ferragamo, G-Star, Guerlain, H&M, Hysteric Glamour, Jimmy Choo, Lacoste, L’Oréal, MAC Cosmetics, Mary Katrantzou, Mercedes-Benz, Miu Miu, Opel, Revlon, Rolex, Shiseido, Tommy Hilfiger, Veuve Cliquot, Victoria’s Secret and many more.

Ellen von Unwerth is a regular contributor to magazines all over the world, such as Cosmopolitan, Egoïste, ELLE, Glamour, i-D, Interview, Lula, Numéro, Paper Magazine, Playboy, Stern, The Face, The New York Times, Vanity Fair and many international editions of Vogue, including American, French, German, Italian and Russian.

von Unwerth has also directed short films for clients like Azzedine Alaïa, Dior, Guess and Katherine Hamnett, along with a range of commercials and music videos.

Book projects are an important part of von Unwerth’s career. Her first book, Snaps, was published in 1994, followed by Wicked (1998), Couples (1999), the photo-novella Revenge (2003), Omahyra & Boyd (2005), Fräulein (2009), DieSpieler (2010), the photo-novella The Story of Olga (2012) and Heimat (2017). Her work has been exhibited worldwide and is featured in a variety of collections.

Ellen von Unwerth has received several awards, including winning first prize at the International Festival of Fashion Photography in 1991 and the LUCIE Award in 2012 and 2019.

Her magazine, Ellen von Unwerth’s VON, launched its first worldwide issue in 2018, followed by a second issue in 2019.