Loretta Lux

Loretta Lux (born 1969) was born in Dresden, East Germany and is a German fine art photographer known for her surreal portraits of young children. She currently lives and works in Monaco.

Lux graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts in Munich in the 1990s, and debuted at the Yossi Milo gallery, New York in 2004. The show put both Yossi Milo and Loretta Lux on the map, selling out and setting prices never before seen from a new gallery.

In 2005, Lux received the Infinity Award for Art from the International Center of Photography. Her work has since been exhibited extensively abroad, including solo exhibitions in 2006 at the Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Netherlands, and the Sixth Moscow Photobiennale. Her work is included in numerous collections in Europe and the United States, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Fotomuseum, den Haag; Reina Sofia, Madrid and Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland. She has had portfolios featured in numerous fine art magazines.

The artist executes her compositions using a combination of photography, painting and digital manipulation. Lux's work - at once alluring and disturbing - usually features young children and is influenced by a variety of sources. She originally trained as a painter at Munich Academy of Art, and is influenced by painters such as Diego Velázquez, Agnolo di Cosimo and Phillip Otto Runge. Lux also owes a debt to the famous Victorian photographic portraitists of childhood such as Julia Margaret Cameron and Lewis Carroll.

Exhibitions

2008 “Loretta Lux”, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Monterrey, Mexico

2007 “Loretta Lux", Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland

2006 “Loretta Lux”, Yossi Milo Gallery, New York City

2006 “Imaginary Portraits”, Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow

2006 “Retrospective", Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague

2004 “Loretta Lux”, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam

2004 “Loretta Lux”, Yossi Milo Gallery, New York City

External links

* [http://www.lorettalux.de/ www.lorettalux.de] (Official site).

* [http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.886361/k.43ED/Loretta_Lux.htm www.icp.org] ( Infinity Award )

works in museums collections ( selection ):

* [http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_200614_0.html www.guggenheimcollection.org] ( Guggenheim collection )

* [http://www.moca.org/museum/pc_artwork_detail.php?acsnum=2004.40&keywords=lux%20loretta&x=32&y=8&page=& www.moca.org ] ( Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles )

* [http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/lux_loretta.php www.mocp.org] ( Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago )

* [http://www.sfmoma.org/collections/search.asp?sp_p=all&sp_f=UTF-8&sp_a=sp10026505&sp_t=cao&sp_q=loretta+lux&sp_q_1=&sp_x_1=Department&sp_p_1=phrase&sp_k=collections&sp_c=50&sp-q-2=s2&sp-i-2=-1&sp-q-required-2=-1 www.sfmoma.org] ( San Francisco Museum of Modern Art )

* [http://www.clevelandart.org/explore/artist.asp?name=loretta+lux&keywordid%2D2=&startYear=&endYear=&advsearch=y&searchText=&recordtype=1&tab=1&recNo=0 www.clevelandart.org] ( Cleveland Museum of Art)

* [http://collection.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/results.do?view=detail&db=object&searchMode=simple&id=42699 www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au] ( Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney)

reviews and portfolios ( selection ):

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810329,00.html www.time.com] ( TIME Magazine )

* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1955182,00.html arts.guardian.co.uk] ( Guardian )

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/29/arts/design/29WOOD.html?ex=1393390800&en=3753e6ec7f4bbe4e&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND www.nytimes.com] ( NY Times )

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFrag.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/03/12/upixlux.xml www.telegraph.co.uk] ( Sunday Telegraph )

* [http://www.portfoliocatalogue.com/42/index.php www.portfoliocatalogue.com] ( Portfolio magazine )