Miles Aldridge
Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 - 2020
Introducing Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020, a photographic exhibition by British artist and photographer Miles Aldridge. The exhibition will be Aldridge’s largest US retrospective yet, with more than 50 works shot entirely on film spanning the artist’s career. The show is a best-of from Miles’ oeuvre, drawing from his series of cinematically inspired tableaus as well as an incredible array of portraiture, featuring popular celebrity figures such as Sophie Turner, Viola Davis, Michael Fassbender, and Donatella Versace.
A recurring theme throughout Aldridge’s oeuvre is the false promise of luxury. Psychedelic interiors are furnished with the trappings of mid-century suburban comfort: gleaming kitchen appliances, candy colored telephones, and well-groomed pets denote success. The images of domesticity are often undercut with a bittersweet edge; a personal reflection of Aldridge’s childhood memories of his mother after a shattering divorce.
Aldridge’s work conflates historic and modern motifs and makes subtle reference to the art historical canon. Only rarely does he allow the real world to encroach upon the imagined realm. Through his lens, even reality appears artificial.
Virgin Mary. Supermarkets. Popcorn. Photographs 1999 to 2020 is a collaboration between curator Nadine Barth, barthouse Berlin, and Johan Vikner, Fotografiska’s Director of Global Exhibitions, and coordinated by María Sprowls, Fotografiska New York. The exhibition has been made in close collaboration with the artist and his galleries; Fahey Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, Lyndsey Ingram Gallery, London, Christophe Guye Gallerie, Zurich, Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam, and Casterline Goodman Gallery, Aspen.
“Everything has become identical in a way. My work comes from my imagination and I believe my view of the world is far more ‘real’ than the world outside. This is my reality.”