6 June 2014
Author of some of the most iconic photographic features of the last thirty years, Mario Testino is also an enthusiastic collector and indefatigable traveler. His collection of artworks, spread over his four homes, in London, Lima, New York and Los Angeles, makes up a colorful and varied visual pantheon: in it we can find what have always been his passions (photography, especially the works of the masters: Angus McBean, Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon), established artists (from Andy Warhol to Cindy Sherman) and up-and-coming ones (from Cyprien Gaillard to John Stezaker). Now, a selection of works from his collection is on show at the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin. The exhibition, entitled Somos Libre II and curated by Neville Wakefield, sheds light on the inner universe of the Peruvian photographer, revealing the personal journey he has made through the world of contemporary art. And in the conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist in the catalogue, Testino offers young collectors a piece of advice: “Don’t be in a hurry, because taste is not definitive and changes over the course of the years.”
Cyprien Gaillard, Not Yet Titled, 2010. Courtesy Laura Bartlett Gallery, London.
Adriana Varejão, Blue Sauna, 2003. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.
Artist studio, London, 2010. Photographed by Mario Testino.
Andy Warhol, Marella Agnelli, 1973. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. © 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London.
John Stezaker, Mask XXXIII, 2007.
Anne Collier, Photography, 2009. Courtesy Corvi-Mora, London; Anton Kern Gallery, New York; Marc Foxx, Los Angeles.
Tauba Auerbach, Untitled (fold). Courtesy of STANDARD (OSLO), Oslo Photographer Davina Semo.
Cecil Beaton, Nancy Beaton as a Shooting Star for the Galaxy Ball, 1929. Courtesy The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s.
Mario Testino in Elliott Hundley’s studio, New York, 2008. Photographed by Elliot Hundley.