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The Deodato Arte Art Gallery is pleased to announce a new artist in its collection: David LaChapelle, the photographer with a unique and surrealist style among the most important of the 21st century. Defined as the "Fellini of photography", David LaChapelle joins the catalogue of Deodato Arte, exclusive in Italy and Switzerland.
Surreal shots characterised by bright, fluorescent colours accentuate dreamlike photographic compositions bordering on the bizarre. LaChapelle's style can be associated with the Baroque due to the deliberately excessive presence of elements in his shots, and his photographs are characterised by a marked irony and a critical view of contemporary society.
LaChapelle's artworks are mainly made with a technique that the photographer experimented with several years ago. It consists of painting the negatives of photographs to create bright colours and images of "hyper-superreal" stories: uplifting, eternal and metaphysical scenes.
The artist's most famous artworks portray successful actors and singers, but that is not all. There are several shots in which LaChapelle depicts contemporary society, denounces the American dream and re-proposes the myths of Christianity in a modern key.
Sacred and Profane in LaChapelle's shots
The visit to the Sistine Chapel in 2006 was a turning point in David LaChapelle's career. Finding himself in front of Michelangelo's masterpieces, LaChapelle began to take pictures inspired by Bible stories and Christian myths.
His artworks celebrate faith but at the same time highlight the fears, vices, obsessions and desires of contemporary society.
"David LaChapelle is known for his provocations, for his exaggerations, for his strong colours, for his provocative nudes, always linked to the theme of excess. Erroneously, David, like Newton, is considered a superficial photographer; in reality he is an author who, like few others, has managed to capture the contradictory nature of our modernity by knowing how to stage it." - Reiner Opoku
Reality and history mingle in LaChapelle's shots and religious dialogues with current events within surreal settings, creating a subtle balance between the sacred and the profane.
LaChapelle's shots are also appreciated because they recount ideas that explore and interrogate the realms of the “non-photography”. These are those moments and places that are generally impossible to photograph, such as life after death, the inner spirit, the complex relationship between man and the modern world, the meaning of 'being human' within an era.
"Images stop time in this world that moves so fast." - David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle and the environment
"Nature is a gift to me. It has always been my positive way out. Only in nature am I able to be alone, to pray, to think without interference, without a mobile phone, reflecting on the mistakes I have made and the things I want to change. It doesn't have to be nature in Hawaii, it can also be a forest: I grew up in Connecticut and my mum used to say that the forest is a cathedral." - David LaChapelle
For David LaChapelle, nature and the current environmental situation are important themes for the artist himself, as well as a source of inspiration for his numerous photographs.
In LaChapelle's works, it is possible to witness the violence that is perpetrated against nature due to man's desire to destroy and eliminate something that should actually be protected.
David LaChapelle: the celebrity photographer
Known as the celebrity portrait artist, several stars have passed in front of LaChapelle's lens including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Andy Warhol, Leonardo DiCaprio and Britney Spears, to mention but a few.
Portrayed in David LaChapelle's personal and unique style, the stars have been protagonists of the themes closest to the artist's heart. From the condemnation of consumerism and the American dream, whose numerous shots included Pamela Anderson and Naomi Campbell, to the myths of Christianity and biblical scenes with Kim Kardashian and Courtney Love. Celebrities are therefore depicted in surreal and timeless shots.
The Artworks by David LaChapelle at Deodato Arte
Mastery of colour, a unique sense of composition and unmistakable imaginative storytelling: LaChapelle's incredible artworks have made an indisputable contribution to the photographic genre.
Discover all of David LaChapelle's photographs available online and in Deodato Arte galleries, exclusively for Italy and Switzerland. Each shot is a limited edition of very few in the world and is hand-signed and numbered by the artist.
