In the early 1990s, David LaChapelle (b.1963) ushered in a new era of fashion photography. He created ground-breaking images with hyper-glossy, celebrity-obsessed, surrealism.

LaChapelle's best works take elements of Americana and inflate them with drama, kitsch, or unapologetic sexuality. This daring sensibility made him one of the most inventive and radical fashion photographers of the 1990s.  

This work “B.F.F.” manifests some of the artists’ favorite ingredients: well-oiled, nearly-nude bodies, an affinity for fashion, and a celebration of material excess, all realized in a slick bright palette. 

Three women are pictured in various states of undress yet only one of them is a human being. The other two are artificial human-sized dolls, one lies vacant with its mask removed revealing its robotic interior. This unsettling image is a prime example of LaChapelle's fearless aesthetic.

The odd details of this scene are fascinating; a nature poster, a can of Diet Coke, and the cherry-red plastic floor where the models lay. LaChapelle often culls references from the lexicon of art history, in this work the composition and posing are eerily reminiscent of Ophelia by John Evertt Millais.

To this day, David LaChapelle continues to be a bold and prolific image-maker, working with icons such as Dolly Parton, Kanye West, and Cher. He has published and exhibited in galleries and museums internationally.

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“B.F.F."

USA, 2006

Chromogenic print 

Signed, numbered, and dated 

From an edition of 3 

46"H 60"W (work)

47"H 62.25"W (framed)

Excellent condition.

Note: the images contain reflections due to the size of this work and the plexiglass.