A Firework of Colours & Fantasy

Three years ago, the Atelier Jungwirth collaborated with the Messe Congress Graz to amaze audiences with one of the most successful showcases the city had ever seen: a monumental display of photographs by Steve McCurry. This is now followed by another extraordinary highlight. The visual worlds of celebrated fashion photographer Kristian Schuller will be displayed at the expansive Messe Congress premises (Hall A) in the form of large-scale, freely suspended and artfully back-lit prints, each measuring either 2 × 3 or 3 × 4.5 metres. This dramatic style of presentation emphasises the power of the respective images, and the magical moments they encapsulate. The exhibition spans two decades of the artist’s oeuvre – with a selection ranging from pared-down renditions to opulent orchestrations bursting with colour.

Kristian Schuller is among the most widely-known fashion photographers and (as he likes to describe himself) entertainers of the present day. Born in Romania in 1970, he grew up in an inspiring environment infused with theatre, culture and art: his father was a director and playwright, his mother an art teacher. After emigrating to Germany, Schuller studied fashion design under Vivienne Westwood and photography under F.C. Gundlach. The interplay of light and shadow remain key components of his unmistakeable visual style. He soon began working for leading fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, before becoming a star of the screen himself – as the sharp-tongued photographer in Heidi Klum’s reality TV show, ‘Germany’s Next Topmodel’. In collaboration with his wife and creative partner, Peggy Schuller, the photographer conjures up powerful, at times almost dreamlike images: a spellbinding synthesis between fashion and art.