Avedon 100.

About

Gagosian is pleased to announce Avedon 100, an exhibition to open on May 4, 2023, at 522 West 21st Street, New York, in celebration of the centenary of Richard Avedon’s birth. Almost 150 celebrated artists, designers, musicians, writers, curators, and fashion world representatives were asked to select a photograph by Avedon and elaborate on the ways in which image and artist have made an impact on them. Participants include Hilton Als, Naomi Campbell, Elton John, Spike Lee, Sally Mann, Polly Mellen, Kate Moss, Chloë Sevigny, Taryn Simon, Christy Turlington, and Jonas Wood.

Avedon 100 celebrates Avedon’s enduring influence on photography and makes clear his profound impression on visual culture worldwide. The exhibition represents various periods in his oeuvre, including his widely known In the American West series and images of the social justice movement, as well as classic portraiture, advertising, and fashion work. It features both iconic and rare photographs, among them his singular mural prints, as well as unique exhibition prints made throughout his career. Several of the works have never been exhibited publicly.

The photographs on view reveal the enormous and fascinating diversity of Avedon’s subjects, while the commentary offered by many celebrated selectors underscores the breadth and endurance of his inspiration. Avedon 100 shows how the artist dissolved the lines between photographic genres and cemented the medium’s status as a contemporary art form. In an increasingly digital world, it is also testament to the technical and artistic achievements of film photography.