ANTON CORBIJN

Early Years

Born in Strijen, the Netherlands, Anton Corbijn began shooting local bands at the age of 17, before moving to London to work as a photographer at NME magazine.

Anton Corbijn Artworks

Anton Corbijn's feature films have shown in festivals worldwide and his intimate portraits have occupied the covers of magazines and newspapers, depicting subjects under natural light with soft contours.

Magazine Covers

Corbijn's career as a music photographer started around the mid-1970s, after he photographed Dutch musician Herman Brood and his band Herman Brood & His Wild Romance after witnessing the musician play at a café in Groningen.

From the late 1970s, Corbijn was a regular contributor to magazines like the New Musical Express, a London-based music newspaper, and The Face, a post-punk lifestyle magazine, which would often feature his photographs on the cover.

Portrait Photographs

Amongst Corbijn's portraits is David Bowie wearing a loincloth backstage while starring in a theatrical adaptation of The Elephant Man. Other subjects include Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Stephen Hawking, and Elvis Costello.

In the monochrome portrait Kurt Cobain (1993), the rock icon is captured with a soft expression, eyes concealed behind white shades, interlaced hands placed in front of his chest, seemingly communicating all there is to say.

Coloured Images

In 1989, Corbijn departed from his habitual black-and-white images to shoot the album booklet for the Creature's Boomerang, which incorporated colour using filters.

The same year, Corbijn collaborated with South African painter Marlene Dumas for 'Stripping Girls', a project that captured Amsterdam's strip clubs and peep shows.

Depeche Mode & U2

One of Corbijn's longest collaborations has been with the electronic music band Depeche Mode. Their collaboration began with the filming of their 1986 music video for 'A Question of Time' and led to the Corbijn designing the band's entire live set.

Since 1993, Corbijn has directed 20 music videos for the band and designed most of their album covers, as he has done for rock bank U2, another long-time collaborator whom Corbijn first shot during their first tour in the United States.

Anton Corbijn Films

Corbijn made his first colour video in 1984 for U2's single 'Pride (In the Name of Love)'. In 1994, Corbijn directed Some Yoyo Stuff, a short film for the BBC, while his debut film, Control, premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

Control, a biographical film about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, won the Director's Fortnight, the CICAE Art & Essai Prize, and the Regards Jeunes Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win the Michael Powell Award for Best New Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Famous Works

In 2010, Corbijn directed The American, starring George Clooney. He also directed A Most Wanted Man (2014), based on a book written by British spy novelist John le Carré.

In 2018, Corbijn filmed Depeche Mode's last two concerts in Berlin. Some of the footage turned into Spirits in the Forest, a live-music documentary released in 2019.

Awards and Accolades

Corbijn is the recipient of Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards; the Douglas Hickox Award and the Regards Jeunes Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival; and Best Fiction Program at the Cologne Conference (all 2007), amongst others.

In 1995, Anton Corbijn also received a Grammy nomination for directing the music video for Depeche Mode's song 'Devotional' (1993).

Exhibitions

Anton Corbijn has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions.

Solo exhibitions include Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt (2021, 2020); Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (2017); Fotografiska Museum, Stockholm (2016); Galerie Anita Beckers, Frankfurt (2016); Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Hague (2015); Galerie Neue Meister, Dresden (2012); FOAM Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam (2011); Ludwig Museum, Budapest (2009); and Helsinki Art Museum (2008).

Group exhibitions include The Photographers' Gallery, London (2021); Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (2018); Fotografie Forum, Frankfurt (2017); Museum of Photography, Greece (2016); Netherlands Photo Museum, Rotterdam (2015); Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (2015); Museum of Applied Arts, Cologne (2011); Art Cologne (2006); Maison Europénne Photo, Paris (2004); and De Balie, Amsterdam (2003).

Website and Instagram

The artist's website can be found here, his Instagram here.

Elaine YJ Zheng | Ocula | 2022