Mario Testino: Let the Sun Shine in

DECEMBER 16 – JANUARY 20, 2024

For over 40 years Mario Testino has continued to surprise the art world with photographs that have an energy, fluidity, freedom and sensuality that defy conventionality. With a sophisticated understanding of fashion, clothes, and culture and a commitment to keeping his subjects vital and open – he has worked with many of the greatest designers and models since the 1980’s. Mario Testino was born in 1954 in Lima, Peru and was raised in a traditional Catholic family. He was nurtured in a culture of formal conventions and behavior – and his upbringing has enriched his aesthetic understanding of the world. Testino’s memory of his mother was, “She was a dresser… She trained me to what I do today.” 

For over 40 years Mario Testino has continued to surprise the art world with photographs that have an energy, fluidity, freedom and sensuality that defy conventionality. With a sophisticated understanding of fashion, clothes, and culture and a commitment to keeping his subjects vital and open – he has worked with many of the greatest designers and models since the 1980’s. Mario Testino was born in 1954 in Lima, Peru and was raised in a traditional Catholic family. He was nurtured in a culture of formal conventions and behavior – and his upbringing has enriched his aesthetic understanding of the world. Testino’s memory of his mother was, “She was a dresser… She trained me to what I do today.” 

Testino’s  original areas of studies were law and economics. He moved to London in 1976 and fell under the spell of the excitement, fashion, lifestyle and counterculture of the city. The explosion of mod fashion energized his interest in photography. He apprenticed at the studios of John Vickers and Paul Nugent and received his first commissions with Vogue Magazine. Originally inspired by Beaton, Avedon, and Parkinson, Testino honed his skills and developed his own unique style to marry his fascinations with clothes and high-style with his love of South America, particularly Brazil and its celebration of freedom, sun, surf, and the hedonistic good life. 

His most significant early breaks came from his commissions to photograph Princess Diana in 1997 for Vanity Fair and then Madonna in 1998 for her “Ray of Light” album. These assignments brought together Testino’s interests in portraits and style. His understanding of the concept of a portrait was looser and more life affirming than traditional likenesses. He wanted to show the sitter as alive, engaged and in the moment rather than static and fixed. Improvisation was encouraged and Testino realized, early on, that a great picture only happened when he was able to bring out the uniqueness, personality and energy of the model. Anna Wintour observed that, “Mario captures a person at their best and that, by itself, is a great art.” 

Testino’s early championing of Kate Moss, Amber Valletta and Gisele Bündchen, when they were lesser known – helped to usher in the age of the ‘supermodel.’ As the supermodels became besieged by the press, Mario, and some of his peers such as Peter Lindberg, stepped in as an intermediary between the press and the designers and their models. By this, the photographer’s statuses were elevated and they became ‘super photographers’. With his ability to speak 5 languages and his natural charm, Mario became the in demand fashion photographer.

In the 90’s Testino moved away from the era of grunge. Elegance, haute couture, and privilege were, again, being sold as something to aspire to. Testino has always been aware that his various fashion shoots had to be targeted to their own markets. Italian Vogue, French Vogue, English Vogue, and American Vogue were all independent and the cultural norms of the readerships were all slightly different. He would adjust his campaigns knowing this. His first big commercial break came with the 1995 rebranding of Gucci, which was, until then, very conservative in its marketing and imaging. Tom Ford, a Texan with fresh ideas, was called in to revitalize the company. Tom Ford and Carine Roitfeld, the French editor of Vogue, worked with Testino to create a legendary campaign complete with edgy imaging, heightened sensuality, and more than a hint of forbidden pleasure. In a BBC documentary, “A Celebration of Life,” Tom Ford was asked to comment on what was special about Testino, “Mario creates a fantasy world where everyone is glamorous, and everything is chic and everyone is rich and that’s a lot about what fashion is about. (It) is creating a sort of mythical idealized world that you want to be part of and buy into and that is what Mario is terrific at.” 

During his years of creating fashion campaigns Testino would work for Burberry, Versace, Chanel, Estée Lauder and Dolce & Gabbana. He would continue his association with supermodels as well as unknown models bringing out images that were creative and embodied boldness, style and privilege. His photographs ran in the pages of the most prominent “glossies” such as Vogue, W Magazine, and Vanity Fair. Testino’s campaigns would often make use of male models – which was novel. His work has always blurred the boundaries of sexuality and desire. He combines masculinity as well as femininity and brings an unfettered freedom and joy into his work. His photographs are animated by the movement and seeming organized chaos of his ‘mise en scène’ but also by their bold, rich and saturated use of color. Former Editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter has commented on Testino’s ability to capture the precisely right moment “In less than a nanosecond — click — he manages to access something highly personal, perhaps something the subject doesn’t wish to give away.” He is a proponent of the large image. The often kinetic movements of the models coupled with dazzling palette of color creates an impact that few photographers can match. 

In 2002, the National Portrait Gallery in London held a retrospective exhibition for Mario Testino which broke attendance records. A partial listing of further one-man exhibitions includes the Helmut Newton Foundation, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum in Tokyo, and the Nicola Erni Collection. There are over 16 books in print on Testino’s photography. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2014, the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2017, as well as the Grand Cross rank of the Order of Merit of Peru for Distinguished Services, as well as other awards of honor. 

Mario Testino’s latest photographs are based on preserving native global traditions. There is continuity in his interest both in the models and in the native costumes – which usually are rich with symbolic and cultural meaning. He is not presently shooting fashion images. Testino’s long celebrated career in image making has left him with some important insights. He freely acknowledges that he is obsessed with beauty and that much of his work has been devoted to “selling a dream.” His photographs can be thought of as acts of seduction. His pictures are redolent with feelings , and he has tapped into photography’s power to recreate magical moments in his life. However, in the end, Mario Testino is interested in preserving an essence that is ‘real’ and genuine. He sagely states, “I spend years trying to perfect everything and really perfection is not that great at the end of the day… it’s that moment that happens… that emotion. For me, when you capture that you have it all.”