Juergen Teller’s photography stands apart in the fashion world. The imagery he produces is always immediately recognisable due to its innate starkness. His photography is often over-exposed and regularly features the photographer himself in various stages of undress. The photographer shot every single Marc Jacobs campaign from 1998 until 2014, and has lensed the likes of Kurt Cobain, Kate Moss , Kim Kardashian and David Hockney.
The photographer began his career when he moved from his native country Germany to London in 1986, shooting album artwork. From his first visual for the band Björk and Morrissey, Teller made his foray into the fashion world, shooting the front cover of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine, featuring a nude Kristen McMenamy with the word "Versace" drawn in a heart across her chest in 1996. Since then, his fashion photography has been featured in The Face, American, French, British and Italian Vogue, Another Magazine, Index, W, Self Service, Details, Purple, i-D and 032c, among many others. Teller has collaborated with brands like Helmut Lang, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood and Céline, and still continues regularly shooting for them today, albeit a shift in direction to art photography and teaching.
Perhaps due to his background, his work is known for its sense of rebellion. The German photographer refuses to tailor his aesthetic to that of his commercial clients, a rare privilege granted only to the best photographers. So much so that in 2003, Teller received the Citibank photography prize. In 2007, Teller was selected to represent the Ukraine among four other artists at the 52nd edition of the Venice Biennale. Teller's dozens of solo and group shows have spanned cities such as London, Vienna, Seoul, Athens, Berlin and Bonn over a decade, with some works housed permanently at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the International Centre for Photography in New York, among other international locations.
Teller has also tried his hand at videography, directing fashion films and short films, including "Can I Own Myself" in 1998, "Schmetterling" in 2005 and "Dieter" in 2017.
