From April 7 through May 22, 2018, Reflex Gallery in Amsterdam presented the solo exhibition Art History by British photographer Miles Aldridge (London, 1964). Since the 1990s, the artist has built a reputation with colorful, surreal photographs of beautiful women in glamorous settings. The exhibition featured a selection of his latest work. Miles Aldridge attended the opening for an artist talk and book signing.
For his most recent series, Miles Aldridge collaborated with Maurizio Cattelan, Gilbert & George, and Harland Miller. Aldridge references the work of these famous contemporary artists and combines it with his own distinctive style.
The titles (after Cattelan), (after Gilbert & George), and (after Miller) speak for themselves. In the latter two series, the photographer departed from his familiar technique and used photogravure and screen printing for the first time.
Alongside the (after) series, the exhibition also featured unique Polaroids and several new works that had never been shown before, in which Aldridge drew on classical antiquity and the iconic style of Renaissance painters such as Botticelli and Lucas Cranach.
Although he began in fashion photography, Miles Aldridge's work has become firmly established in the art world. His photographs have been exhibited in museums worldwide and are held in collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the International Center of Photography in New York.
His work has also appeared in leading publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Numéro, Vogue, The New York Times, and TIME magazine. Two of his photographs for TIME were nominated for best covers of 2017.
Reflex Gallery and Miles Aldridge have published several books together, including The Cabinet (2007), Acid Candy (2008), Kristen (2011), One Black & White and Twenty Colour Photographs (2014), and (after Cattelan) (2017).
www.reflexamsterdam.com
