Over 50 works by two iconic fashion photographers, Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims, form a new exhibition from the Art Gallery of New South Wales' photography collection. "The fashion of Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims" presents two photographers whose work during the late 20th century was pivotal to the progression of fashion imagery into the 21st century - Helmut Newton (1920-2004) and Bettina Rheims (1952).
The curators say that despite the generational difference, both photographers explored the construction of gender identity through their photography. They challenged the conventional representations of women, but also - particularly in Rheims' case - men.
The Art Gallery of NSW has a significant collection of Helmut Newton images. The 20 works in this exhibition are taken from the most important period of Newton's career, the 1970s and '80s. Newton's images expose the intimate connections between sex, clothes, gender, class, voyeurism and photography in his representations of women.
More than 30 photographs from Bettina Rheims' celebrated series "Modern Lovers" of 1990 will be presented. This series marked an important shift in Rheims' work, which had previously focused on a much more conventionally feminine depiction of women. In "Modern Lovers", however, Rheims uses a neutral grey background and gathered models from the street, the oldest of whom was 20, to depict an androgynous image of youth.
German-born Helmut Newton began assisting photographer Yva (Else Neuländer-Simon) in 1936. Four years later he immigrated to Australia, where he served in the army during World War II. After the war, Newton began to work as a freelance photographer across many media outlets, including Vogue Australia. In 1948 Newton married actor June F Browne (aka June Brunell and Alice Springs), who would prove a constant and vital force of motivation and encouragement throughout his career. Relocating to Europe in the late 1950s, Newton worked for several renowned fashion publications during the 1960s, most notably Vogue (France, US, UK, Italy). By the seventies, Newton had gained a reputation for eroticised photographs of Amazonian models.
Bettina Rheims was born in Paris, France. Rheims worked as a model and journalist in the seventies before beginning work as a portrait photographer in 1978. She became well known for her images of women, which offered an alternative in the male-dominated world of photography. Rheims' work covers the categories of fashion, portraiture, documentary and art. She has worked for fashion magazines such as "Elle" and made commercials for Chanel, while also having exhibited at Centre Georges Pompidou and Maison Européene de la Photographie, both in Paris.
This free exhibition is on display from Feb 9 until May 19, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney.
