Greg Gorman

GREG GORMAN
Photographs

September 9, 2010 through October 16, 2010
Opening Reception Thursday, September 9, 7-9 pm

For the past forty years, Greg Gorman has been making photographs. His broad and eclectic mix of portraits and nudes explore his intimate and engaging relationships with artists, musicians, models, friends, and personalities within the creative community and entertainment industry. The Fahey/Klein Gallery is pleased to present an atypical exhibition of Greg Gorman’s photography. This exhibition will feature oversized Gorman contact sheets of portraits and nudes which portray the evolution of the shoot and the subtle nuances of expression within a photographic session. “For me, a photograph is most successful when it doesn’t answer all the questions, and it leaves something to be desired.” (Greg Gorman)

Gorman is known for his well crafted portraits and sensuous male and female nudes. Over the past four decades, he has obsessively carved out a classically refined style, accentuated by his graphic aesthetic, honest portraits, and sensual forms which exude glamour, eroticism, and authenticity. “He is a purist—hardlighting, minimal sets, black and white. The lack of artifice allows the subject room to fully express themselves. His portraits never date; their appeal lies in their ability to unmask celebrity personality while still preserving the fantasy of the dream.” (Alex Craig, “Celebrity and Beyond”, Greg Gorman, Inside Life, Rizzoli, 1997)

The exhibition at the Fahey/Klein Gallery is held in conjunction with “Greg Gorman: A Distinct Vision: 1970 -2010”, a retrospective overview of his forty years of photography at the Pacific Design Center. Both exhibitions showcase his well-known portraits and nudes. One of the distinguishing characteristics in Gorman’s oeuvre is his attraction to, and record of, some of the “outsiders” who occupy the fringes of the creative community. This specific group of artists, actors, performers, and musicians, showcased in both exhibitions, are notorious and eccentric personalities who chose to live on the edge and steer clear of the mainstream. This list includes John Waters, Iggy Pop, Malcolm McClarren, Nina Hagen, Udo Kier, Pee Wee Herman, Stephen Sprouse, Divine, Jeff Koons, the Kipper Kids, Quentin Crisp, and Tom Waits among others. Gorman and his subjects share a mutual attraction, Gorman says “I like working with those who are willing to experiment; those who will take chances and be creative regardless of other people’s expectations.”

“From the famous to the notorious to the about-to-be-either, all happily posed for his camera, simply knowing he is going to make them look great… Greg Gorman is someone who makes celebrities feel good about being famous. Greg Gorman is the only person I would let photograph my corpse.” (John Waters, Forward to “Greg Gorman: Inside Life”)

Greg Gorman initially studied photojournalism and he has not strayed far from the tenants of this genre of photography. Even though his work is creatively interpretive, his goals have always been to give the viewer an honest and direct portrayal of what comes before his camera.

Born in 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri, Greg Gorman attended the University of Kansas with a major in photojournalism. He completed studies at the University of Southern California graduating with a Masters of Fine Arts degree in cinematography. Greg Gorman’s work has been featured in countless magazine spreads and on covers including Esquire, GQ, LIFE, Interview Magazine, L’Uomo Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Time, and Vanity Fair.