David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1963 and attended high school at North Carolina School of The Arts. Originally enrolled as a painter, he developed an analogue technique by hand-painting his own negatives to achieve a sublime spectrum of color before processing his film.
At age seventeen, LaChapelle moved to New York City. Following his first photography show at Gallery 303, he was hired by Andy Warhol to work at Interview Magazine.
Through his mastery of color, unique composition, and imaginative narratives, LaChapelle began to expand the genre of photography. His staged tableau, portrait and still life works challenged devices of traditional photography and his work quickly gained international interest. By 1997, The New York Times predicted, “LaChapelle is certain to influence the work of a new generation…in the same way that Mr. Avedon pioneered so much of what is familiar today.”
LaChapelle has photographed some of the most recognizable figures in film, music, art, politics and sports, including Amy Winehouse, Andy Warhol, Angeline Jolie, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, Muhammed Ali, Sofia Coppola, Travis Scott, Tupac Shakur, Uma Thurman, Whitney Houston and many others.
In the decades since, LaChapelle has become one of the most published photographersthroughout the world with an anthology of books including LaChapelle Land (1996), Hotel LaChapelle (1999), Heaven to Hell (2006), Lost & Found (2017), and Good News (2017). Simultaneously, his work has expanded into music video, film and stage projects. His 2005 feature film Rize was released theatrically in 17 countries. Many of his still and film works have become iconic archetypes of America in the 21st Century.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
DAVID LACHAPELLE, Galerie Bene Taschen
2022
David LaChapelle: Poems and Fevers, Deodato Arte
2021
David LaChapelle – Recollections In America, Galerie Bene Taschen
2019
David LaChapelle: Act of Nature, Alex Daniels – Reflex Amsterdam
2018
David LaChapelle: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, Staley-Wise Gallery
David LaChapelle, Staley-Wise Gallery
Letter to the World, Templon
David LaChapelle – Negative Currency, Geuer & Geuer Art
2017
SCAPEs DAVID LACHAPELLE, Pearl Lam Galleries
SCAPEs DAVID LACHAPELLE, Pearl Lam Galleries
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Art Within Reach: Works Priced $1000 and under, Alpha 137 Gallery
Echoes of Her, MARUANI MERCIER GALLERY
Rare and Collectible Artist Books, Alpha 137 Gallery
Collectible Artist Designed and/or Signed Posters, Alpha 137 Gallery
Naomi, CAMERA WORK
2024
Vessels of Memory, Pearl Lam Galleries
Banksy&Friends, Storie di Artisti Ribelli, Pop House Gallery
Autumn Sale, Galerie Thomas
Group Show 2024, Galerie Bene Taschen
Pairs, Staley-Wise Gallery
2023
Group Show 2023, Galerie Bene Taschen
OUT and ABOUT, Staley-Wise Gallery
Who’s Who, Staley-Wise Gallery
2022
INAUGURATION OF EXTENDED GALLERY SPACE | GROUP
EXHIBITION 2022, Galerie Bene Taschen
Art + Fashion, Staley-Wise Gallery
TASCHEN Store East Hampton, TASCHEN
Couples, Staley-Wise Gallery
PICTURE THIS: A Group Exhibit of Vintage Photographs, Gallery 52
2021
SECOND GALLERY SPACE – SELECTED WORKS, Galerie Bene Taschen
Ready, Set, Go, Staley-Wise Gallery
QUEER ME NOW, Gallery 52Face It!, Staley-Wise Gallery
Let’s Fall In Love, Staley-Wise Gallery
Tachycardia, RestelliArtCo.
2020
Women of Distinction, Staley-Wise Gallery
LOVE • SEX • DEATH, Gallery 52
Summer, Staley-Wise Gallery
Best in Show, Staley-Wise Gallery
Men of Style, Staley-Wise Gallery
A Light Exists in Spring: Group Exhibition, Gallery 52
In Bloom, Staley-Wise Gallery
Snow Day, Staley-Wise Gallery
2019
Top 20 of 2019, Caviar20
2018
Portraits of Artists, Staley-Wise Gallery
Splash!, Staley-Wise Gallery
Changes: From the Staley-Wise Archive, Staley-Wise Gallery
Extraordinary Photographs VI, Rosier Gallery
Down The Rabbit Hole, Imitate Modern
2017
Grey and Beige Portfolio, Elgiz Museum
2016
Speak its Name!, National Portrait Gallery
Summer Salon II, The Front Gallery
Rhythm, Imitate Modern
Botticelli Reimagined, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
A New Selection from the Elgiz Collection: Faces & Masks, Elgiz Museum
2015
PIPE DREAM, Galerie Andrea Caratsch
The Botticelli Renaissance, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
20 + 2 YEARS, A3 Arndt Art Agency
2013
It’s An American Thing, Staley-Wise Gallery
Flowers & Mushrooms, Museum der Moderne
Affordable care, Mana Wynwood
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Hall Art Foundation, Reading, VT
Bayerische Staatsoper Portrait Gallery, Munich, Germany
Brandhorst Foundation, Munich, Germany
Daimler Art Collection, Stuttgart, Germany
Fondazione Brescia Musei, Brescia, Italy
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, California
The Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands
The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
La Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, New York, NY
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Foundation, Paris, France
MOCO Museum, Barcelona, Spain
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
Pérez Art Museum, Miami, Florida
Serge Delsemme Foundation, Belgium
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel