David LaChapelle United States, b. 1963

David LaChapelle was born in 1963 in Farmington, Connecticut. Discovered by Andy Warhol at the age of 17, LaChapelle began working for Interview Magazine at the threshold of his prolific career. Soon to be known for his hyper-real, distinctly saturated depictions of celebrity culture - Paris Hilton, Muhammad Ali, Britney Spears, Madonna, and Tupac Shakur figuring among his subjects - LaChapelle’s earliest work explored themes of mortality and transcendence through fine art, black-and-white photography. 

After tremendous success in commercial photography, music videos, and filmmaking, LaChapelle has returned to the gallery settings where he first began. His work today explores the metaphysical themes of his earliest work, referencing art history and religious iconography to make profound commentaries on the contemporary world. “I reintroduce my personal ideas of transfiguration, regaining paradise, and the notion of life after death” .

 

LaChapelle has exhibited in major museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, London; The Helmut Newton Museum; the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Quebec; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D. C.

 

LaChapelle lives in Hana, Maui since 2011, and works in Los Angeles.