Miles Aldridge was born in London in 1964, as the son of a family of artists. He made his first experience with photography at the age of five. He sat with his father Alan Aldridge portrait for Lord Snowden.
Miles Aldridge studied illustration at Central Saint Martins Collage of Art & Design and briefly produced music videos before becoming a fashion photographer in the mid-1990s.
The father of Miles Aldridge, already created psychedelic album covers as a graphic artist. The artist’s photographs are incredibly vivid and glamorous and are strongly reminiscent of famous film scenes. Aldridge uses intensely saturated colors and erotic undertones to give his work a dramatic dimension.
Various influences of film directors like Derek Jarman, David Lynch and Fellini are visible. But Miles Aldridge also makes reference to photographers like Richard Avedon.
Perfectly staged, the stars of Aldridge’s surrealistic stories and technicolored dream worlds are glamorous, beautiful women. Their flawless appearance and empty expression leave room for interpretation and, like a mirror with a touch of dark humor, point to the perfect façade of fashion glamour and the need for idealized beauty. In addition, his works are characterized by vibrant, fluorescent colors, Hollywood lighting and a perfect attention to detail.
Although the works seem to be from the computer, everything is lovingly recreated in the studio and photographed in a classic manner. In order to achieve his characteristic cinematic effect, Miles Aldridge first makes a drawing and then meticulously plans every aspect of his image, from the precise lighting to the color palette, before taking the photographs.
Miles Aldridge’s photographic works are frequently published in internationally renowned magazines such as Vogue Italia, The New Yorker, TIME, Numéro and the New York Times.
Miles Aldridge had his first solo exhibition in London in 2009, followed by an exhibition in New York. In 2013 there was the first major retrospective of his work entitled “I Only Want You to Love Me” at Somerset House. In 2014 he was invited by Tate Britain to create a photographic installation entitled Carousel II in response to Mark Gertler’s painting Merry-go-Round from 1916.
His works are now part of renowned museum collections, such as the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the International Center of Photography in New York.
At GALERIE FRANK FLUEGEL the exhibition “Miles Aldridge – Dazzling Beauty” took place from 28.09.2018 – 22.12.2018.
In Stockholm, the exhibition “Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020 | Miles Aldridge” was on view in 2020/2021. The Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm put together its largest retrospective to date with more than 80 images, including series such as (after Cattelan) in collaboration with artist Maurizio Cattelan. “The exhibition is intended as a best-of of Miles’ oeuvre, ranging from his cinematic-inspired tableaux to his striking, sometimes witty and sarcastic female roles to his iconic Immaculée and (after Cattelan) series. Portraits of stars such as Sophie Turner, Donatella Versace and Ralph Fiennes are also on view. A smart ride through Miles’ extravagant cosmos,” says curator Nadine Barth. The exhibition “Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020 | Miles Aldridge”, which was also curated by Johan Vikner, will travel on to New York in May 2021 to open the new museum Fotografiska NY.
Miles Aldridge: Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn – Berlin 2024
The Swedish photography museum Fotografiska opened its Berlin branch in September 2023 on 5,500 square meters in the historic Kunsthaus Tacheles on Oranienburger Straße in Mitte.
Emerging and internationally established artists: Fotografiska in Berlin exhibits works by the world’s best photographers. With outstanding photography exhibitions and a diverse cultural program, the museum is establishing itself as an open cultural center in the capital city of Berlin. Fotografiska Berlin will be the fourth branch of the Fotomuseum alongside the museums in Stockholm, New York and Tallinn.
The exhibition “Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn” with artworks by Miles Aldridge opens in Berlin. The Briton has been one of the most sought-after international fashion photographers since the 1990s and achieved fame through his highly stylized, psychedelic style with quotes from film, art history and pop culture.
Miles Aldridge’s elaborately staged images are reminiscent of film sets. Immaculately smooth surfaces and stereotypical femininity enhance the artificial effect of the images, which are rendered in a palette of rich and shimmering hues and all photographed on film. Nothing is represented on the computer, all the photographed motifs have been recreated in the studio.
The exhibition in Berin reflects the cosmos of Miles Aldridge:
The Virgin Mary refers to the religious paintings of artists such as Caravaggio, who create theatrical moments through dramatic lighting, costumes and staging. The supermarket is a metaphor for consumer society and the hope of self-optimization through the therapeutic effect of consumption. Finally, popcorn stands for the influence of cinema in Aldridge’s work. Directors such as Hitchcock, Lynch and Fellini served as a source of inspiration.
The Miles Aldridge exhibition at Fotografiska Berlin is Miles Aldridge’s (*1964, London) largest retrospective to date with around 80 pictures. A major exhibition already took place at FRANK FLUEGEL GALERIE in 2018. Among the series is (after Cattelan) from 2015, in which the artist Maurizio Cattelan invited Aldridge to react to Cattalan’s sculptures over the course of a night together in a Paris museum.
Selected Shows and Exhibitions:
2024
The Infinite Woman – Fondation Carmignac
Île de Porquerolles.
27 April – 2 November 2024
Curated by Alona Pardo
Beyond Fashion – Saatchi Gallery
London.
31 May – 8 September 2024
Fotografiska Museum “Miles Aldridge: Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn”,
02.2024 – 05.2024 Berlin
Miles Aldridge Colour Pictures 2000 – 2022
Hangaram Design Museum
Seoul.
4 May – 28 August 2022
2021
Fotografiska Museum New York, USA
SELECTED PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:
National Portrait Gallery, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The British Museum, London
International Centre of Photography, New York
Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles
Palais Galliera Musée de la Mode de la ville de Paris
Nicola Erni Collection, Zug
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