A COLLECTION OF ICONIC WORKS FROM VISIONARY ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER MARIO TESTINO, ARE TO BE EXHIBITED IN CHINA FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE PRESTIGIOUS TODAY ART MUSEUM FROM JUNE 7TH 2012.

PRIVATE VIEW IS A NEWLY CURATED EXHIBITION, THE ARTIST’S FIRST TO OPEN IN CHINA, WHICH SPANS HIS THIRTY YEAR CAREER AND FIRMLY CEMENTS MARIO TESTINO AS A MASTER OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY.


MARIO TESTINO: PRIVATE VIEW will open on 7th June 2012 at the prestigious Today Art Museum in Beijing. The exhibition will bring together almost 100 of Testino’s most celebrated photographs, providing a unique insight into some of the most remarkable images of our time.
                             

From portraits of royalty and award-winning Hollywood actors, to iconic cover images, Mario Testino has photographed the world’s most respected and influential people. His pictures have been featured world-wide across covers of international fashion magazines and through campaigns for the world’s leading fashion and beauty brands.

British luxury brand Burberry, who are longstanding collaborators with Mario Testino, will be supporting him for this inaugural exhibition in China.

As the strategic partner of the Today Art Museum, the luxury car brand Mercedes Benz will also be partnering with the exhibition.

Testino is known for the extraordinary way in which he can capture his subjects. He has a unique ability to create a connection with his sitters, offering spontaneous and intimate portraits, which captivate audiences worldwide and give the viewer an exclusive insight into an often unknown world. The exhibition will combine every aspect of Testino’s inspirational career in an installation that combines colour, light and video to illuminate the work of a modern master.

 “I wanted to show my work in China, somewhere I have never exhibited before.” says Testino. “I felt the best way of doing this was by selecting the images that mean most to me personally at the moment.... hence the name Private View. In conceiving this exhibition and having the chance to look back over the years I found it was like understanding a puzzle for me – seeing how the fashion work influenced the celebrity portrait work, which in turn influenced the royal work and so on. I felt the only way of making the exhibition was to show all these different sides of my life together, creating a private view of the world I have been documenting. Also, Beijing is an incredible place, full of surprises– you get a real sense of discovery there.”

On photographing the many stars Testino has captured, he goes on to say: “Photographing the famous is fascinating. We see so many images of them that we can forget that they are real people, and that’s the very aspect I like to show. When I photograph someone I want to understand them – their fun side, their soft side, their sexy side – whatever it may be that I discover when I am with them. Sometimes it can lead to very surprising results.”

The exhibition will guide the viewer through the many remarkable areas of Testino’s oeuvre. For this show they have been classified in areas such as his fashion works (In my Own Fashion), his instantly recognizable royal portraits (Portraits of the British Royal Family) and his iconic pictures of the worlds most celebrated people (Larger than Life).

The show will also highlight the work of Testino’s 15 years of creative partnership with Burberry and the brand’s Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey. As the brand’s photographer Testino has captured some of the most instantly recognisable imagery which have resonated with fans of fashion, art and photography around the world.

Coinciding with Mario Testino’s inaugural exhibition in China, a special edition book Mario Testino, Private View will be published by Taschen. The book will be released on a limited edition of 1,500 numbered and signed copies and will come housed in an unique, injection-moulded plastic box with a lenticular cover portrait of Lady Gaga. Contributing authors are Graydon Carter, Karl Lagerfeld, Jennifer Allen, and Patrick Kinmonth.

Mario Testino Private View at the Today Art Museum, Beijing – June 7th – 27th