CHICAGO, IL.- The Ed Paschke Art Center announces the opening of Superstars a career retrospective of legendary rock photographer Paul Natkin. The first exhibition to place sole emphasis on Natkins photographs in the fine arts context, Superstars presents more than twenty of the photographers most iconic photographs of legendary musicians Friday, May 1 June 14, 2015 at EPAC (5415 W. Higgins Ave., Chicago IL)
Natkin has received international acclaim for his dramatic images of some of music's greatest talents. Shot over the last forty years of his career, Superstars features a crossgenerational range of musicians, such as Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Ice Cube and Guns and Roses.
The images, selected by the artist himself, are roughly divided between color and black and white photographs of explosive on-stage performances, and black and white portraits that get up-close and personal with his subjects. Natkin's ability to capture the excitement of live performance in his concert photography, and record raw emotion in his portrait photography is unparalleled.
Natkin has traveled the world capturing some of the greatest and most tumultuous moments in rock history. His father, photojournalist Robert Natkin, inspired him to pursue photography, and he began shooting live concerts in the mid-1970s. His photographs have appeared on countless magazine covers including Newsweek, Time, People, Playboy, Ebony and Entertainment Weekly, as well as on numerous album covers for artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Alanis Morissette and Buddy Guy, among others. Natkin has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at both the Elmhurst Historical Museum and the Chicago Cultural Center.
"Paul Natkin was invited to exhibit his work at the art center before we even opened our doors," said chair of the Ed Paschke Foundation, Vesna Stelcer. "Paul and Ed were friends who bonded over a love of sports, although they're both huge music fans as well. Similar to Paschke, Paul is a down-to-earth, hard worker with a blue-collar background. We're thrilled to bring viewers his Superstars.