Controversial Artist David LaChapelle Returns to Prague

The frequently surreal, always scandalous “Fellini of photography” opens a new exhibit in the Czech capital today

Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas

Written by Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas Published on 21.03.2016 10:29:59 (updated on 21.03.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

A new exhibit by fashion photographer David LaChapelle, whose first Prague retrospective took place at Galerie Rudolfinum in 2012, opens today at DSC Gallery.

“Muses” will feature more than thirty works by an artist who has made a career out of creating provocative images – and courting controversy: his portrait of the transsexual model Carmen Carrera was recently auctioned off at a charity ball in Vienna for 5 million CZK.

The Prague exhibition reflects a decade-long transformation in which LaChapelle took a break from commercial photography to exhibit in major museums around the world including the Musée d’Orsay and the National Portrait Gallery.

Photo: DSC Gallery Prague
Photo: DSC Gallery Prague

The Prague exhibition will include the iconic “Addicted to Diamonds” a potrait of LaChapelle’s most famous muse, transsexual model and artist Amanda Lepore, snorting a line of diamonds.

A surreal take on Botticelli’s “The Rape of Africa,” inspired by the Sandro Botticelli painting “Venus and Mars” with model Naomi Campbell as Venus, is another highlight.

Says DSC Gallery curator Olga Trčková on the strong response LaChapelle’s work tends to inspire:

“LaChapelle purposefully offers an open interpretation with his works and passes it on as puzzle for one to put together, leaving the structure free. It is up to us how we deal with it.”

The exhibit runs through May 7, 2016.

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