Photographer Terry Richardson Remakes Himself as a Gold Awards-Ceremony Statuette (Exclusive Photo)

2/21/2012

The art piece will be exhibited as part of the controversial fashion photographer's Hollywood-themed L.A. exhibit opening Feb. 24.

Terry Richardson — whose work spans commercial ad campaigns (Gucci, Equinox, H&M) and sexually provocative fashion shoots — is about to debut his first gallery exhibit in eight years. On Friday, Feb. 24, the New York-based Richardson opensTerrywood, a show timed to the Oscars that looks at the celebrity culture of Hollywood, at L.A.'s one-year-old OhWow Gallery.

Among the pieces: an edition of 10 resin and gold-electroplate sculptures of Richardson, 13.5 inches tall, in the form of a very recognizable statuette created from full body scans of the artist. "We actually took him to a CGI lab for the scans. It's detailed down to every one of his veins. It's perfect," says Al Moran, co-founder of OhWow, which has locations in New York, Miami and L.A. The figure of Richardson shows him wearing his trademark glasses and giving his signature two thumbs up.

Richardson — whose recent projects include a racy spread forGQ last fall featuring Glee cast members and the behind-the-scenes book Lady Gaga X Terry Richardson ($50, Grand Central Publishing) — has also created what Moran calls a paparazzi machine. "Terry took a picture of the cameramen on a red carpet and created this machine with a motion sensor that turns on when you walk in front of it. A whole bunch of strobes and shutters go off. It sounds like locusts attacking you," he says. The piece measures seven feet tall by nine feet wide.

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For another work, the photographer — who was raised in Hollywood — shot every single star on the Walk of Fame over the course of a couple nights, around 2600 in all and composited them into one huge C-print that’s 10.5 feet wide by almost seven feet tall. He's just posted a sneak peak slide-show clip of the work on his blog, Terry's Diary.

There's even a huge Terrywood sign that's been mounted on the top of the gallery's building, which mimics the famed Hollywood sign.

Says actor/singer Jared Leto, a friend and frequent subject of Richardson's: "With his new show, Terry shares a very powerful and personal vision of Hollywood. Intimate, fragile and explosive, he explores this beautiful landscape filled with the ghosts of dreamers and captures the soul of this seemingly soulless town. He's one of the most talented, impactful and influential photographers on the planet. Like all great artists, he reveals the possibilities of life, not its limitations."

The public opening is 6 to 9 pm Friday, Feb. 24, at OhWow Gallery, 937 N. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles. The show runs through March 31.

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