Beginning Saturday, March 25, 2017, Kunsthuis Amsterdam presented the first retrospective in the Netherlands of renowned German photographer Vincent Peters.
Known for his worldwide campaigns for prestigious brands, magazines, and fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Vogue, GQ, and Glamour, Vincent Peters is acclaimed for a distinctive style reminiscent of 1950s Hollywood aesthetics.
Vincent Peters is a master of visual seduction. His work relies entirely on the classical art of portrait photography, with sophisticated lighting techniques and analog cameras contributing to the breathtaking cinematic quality of his black-and-white photographs.
The photo gallery presented Personal, a retrospective featuring an exceptional selection of photographs Vincent Peters made during private moments with some of the world’s biggest stars. Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johansson, Alexander McQueen, Penélope Cruz, Monica Bellucci, U2, Mickey Rourke, and Irina Shayk are just a few of the names in an exhibition offering a unique, intimate look at the personal and intense encounters between photographer and model.
Born in Bremen in 1969, Vincent Peters took his first steps in photography when he moved to New York at age twenty and began working as a photographer’s assistant. In 1999, his career as a fashion photographer took off under the wing of Giovanni Testino’s renowned agency.
Within a year, Vincent Peters was shooting worldwide campaigns for prestigious brands and major fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, and Wolfgang Joop. He developed an unmistakable style, and his photographs appeared in international magazines including Vogue, GQ, Numéro, Glamour, and The Sunday Times.
Vincent subsequently built an impressive portfolio, photographing many of the world’s biggest stars in a style reminiscent of 1950s Hollywood aesthetics. His work relies entirely on the classical art of portrait photography. Sophisticated lighting and analog cameras contribute to the breathtaking cinematic quality of his black-and-white photographs.
Many iconic photographs arise during private moments photographers share with their models on shoots for which they were originally booked. This applies to the work of Helmut Newton, a master of visual seduction, and certainly to Vincent Peters as well. Regardless of who is in front of his camera, Peters always strives for the ultimate form of authenticity: the image of a spontaneous, intense encounter between photographer and model. “It is not so much the physical image that matters; it is the impression that stays with you.” Images by famous 20th-century studio photographers working with large-format cameras, such as George Hurrell, echo through Vincent Peters’s work.
“I am a traditionalist,” Peters says. “Do you know Midnight in Paris, the Woody Allen film? That is me, in a way—wandering through Paris in the hope of running into someone who lived 100 years ago. You can see that in my photographs: a longing for a world with more grain. Today, everything is so digital. I shoot only analog. In my view, digital photography does not show truth. It is like a washable surface. It offers too much control, leaves no room for chance, and that spontaneous image is exactly the result I am looking for.”
Vincent Peters compares the simplicity and restrained power characteristic of his black-and-white compositions to music. “Music is defined by the notes you do not play. By stripping the image of all distractions, I try to entice with a simple, timeless melody that always stays with you; there is already enough noise around us.”
Vincent Peters was scheduled to attend the festive opening of the exhibition at Kunsthuis Amsterdam on Friday, March 24, from 18:00 to 21:30, and to sign his latest book on Sunday, March 26, from 13:00 to 16:00: Personal, from which Peters donated 100% of the profits to a foundation working to combat domestic violence.
The exhibition ran through April 30, 2017, and admission was free.
Vincent Peters — Personal
25.03.2017–30.04.2017
Opening: 24.03.2017, 18:00–21:30
Book signing: 26.03.2017, 13:00–16:00
