tegenboschvanvreden booth nr 64 September 15 – September 18, 2022 UNSEEN Westergas, Amsterdam
Paul Kooiker, Untitled (Luncheon), 2022 archival ink on photo rag paper, framed 57 x 42 cm
You are cordially invited to come and visit us at UNSEEN photo fair, booth 64.
In his presentation at UNSEEN 2022, Paul Kooiker (1964, Rotterdam) shows recent work that moves at the intersection of fashion and art. Kooiker has made a name for himself in the world of fashion photography in recent years, doing shoots for famous brands such as Rick Owens, Marni, Givenchy and Viktor & Rolf. He has published his photos in magazines [removed] Vogue Italia, Dazed, AnOther Magazine, Vanity Fair, M le Monde, and New York Times Magazine. The fashion assignments offer Kooiker the opportunity to experiment with new ideas for his work.
“Paul Kooiker often exaggerates the shape of bodies to the extreme. Using artificial body extensions, wigs, and extravagant clothing as well as light, shadow, and fragmentation, he creates a unique visual language whose surreal undertone often recalls icons of photography and art history. Social themes such as diversity, body positivity, or the fetishization of bodies, which the fashion world takes up, also translate directly into Kooiker’s image production. Between the queer and avant-garde creations of the designers and the nostalgically anarchic look of his photographs, an effective power typical of Kooiker emerges.” (quote from the press release of Kooiker’s solo exhibition at Museum Fokwang, Essen, DE, Dec 2021-feb 2022).