MARTYN THOMPSON
New York based photographer Martyn Thompson is a respected and prolific image maker. His photographic career was set in motion some twenty-five years ago when he began shooting the avant-garde garments he was designing at the time. As it turned out, Thompson’s images attracted more attention than the clothes themselves, launching a career that continues to make a profound visual impact today.
An expat of Sydney, Australia, Thompson was seduced at an early age first by glam rock and later the dynamic youth movements exploding in the early eighties. He was particularly captivated by the aesthetic of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s subversive early collections and the music of artists such as Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Later in the decade, after several years in Paris, Thompson relocated to London where he began to move from fashion photography into the world of interiors. Perhaps due to his intellectual curiosity and a love of the lived environment, he began to develop a new, atypical approach to documenting interiors and architecture. In a Martyn Thompson image the human and the environment are always connected-the ordinary can become something enigmatic. His mastery of natural light is a skill that has made him highly sought after for still life and product photography.
Today his work has evolved to include video, mixed media print work and 3D installation- often reflecting an artisanal aesthetic borne out of his love of craft. He was one of the founders of “the Tree” - a multi disciplinary art collective in New York City.Thompson has contributed editorial to some of the world’s most respected global magazines including, Architectural Digest, W, The New York Times Magazine and British Vogue. Commercially, he’s created acclaimed imagery for many of the world’s leading brands including Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Hermès and MAC cosmetics. In addition to working on a number of published titles, including two books with regular collaborator Ilse Crawford, Thompson recently released Interiors (Hardie Grant), which overflows with iconoclasts and the beautiful spaces they inhabit.
PUBLISHED BOOKS
Martyn Thompson - Interiors, Concrete, Home Is Where The Heart Is, Sensual Home, Wild At Heart ,The River Cafe Cook Book Series & Living Architecture
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
"The New Romantic"- Strange Loop - New York, 2012
"Anthem" - Strange Loop - New York, 2012
"Made By Hand - Curated by Martyn Thompson" - Here - New York, 2012
"theTREE - REFLECTION" - The Spectrum - New York, 2011
"theTREE - WET" - Charles Lahti Studio - New York, 2011
"theTREE - TREE" - Charles Lahti Studio - New York, 2011
"Master & Apprentice" - Charles Lahti Studio - New York, 2010
"Escape Artist" - Here - New York, 2010
"Desire" - New Orleans Photo Alliance Gallery - New Orleans, 2009
"Cut/Break" - Stella Schnabel & Everard Findlay Benefit for SFOTE's Laventile Bus Project20 - New York, 2008
"Icon" - International Center of Photography Benefit Auctions - New York, 2006
"American Beauty" - International Center of Photography Benefit Auctions - New York, 2006
"Hope" - Benefit for the Dalai Lama hosted by Donna Karen. Stephen Weiss Studio - New York, 2006
"Eros" - International Center of Photography Benefit Auctions - New York, 2003
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
"Falling In Love at The Institute" - Dinosaur Designs - Sydney, 2013
"Plant Life" - Dinosaur Designs - Sydney, 2012
"Poppycock" - Helltown Workshop - Provincetown, 2009
"Poppycock" - Cool Gray Seven Fine Art - New York, 2008
"Existence" - Benefit for the Dalai Lama & The Norbulingka Institute - New York, 2003
"Inside Out" - Volvo Gallery - Sydney, 1999
"Content" - The Truman Brewery - Brick Lane, London, 1998
"Elsa Peretti in Sant Marti Vel" - Tiffany - London, 1996
"Elsa Peretti in Sant Marti Vel" - Tiffany - London, 1995