Ari Marcopoulos

 
Born in Amsterdam in 1957, Ari Marcopoulos came to New York in 1979 and quickly became part of the downtown art scene that included up-and-coming artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Since then, Marcopoulos has become recognized as a key documentarian of contemporary culture as it unfolds: recording the emerging hip-hop scene, shooting snowboarders hurtling down a vertical mountain face, or chronicling the vicissitudes of his own family life, Marcopoulos' works unerringly capture the zeitgeist.
Marcopoulos appears to have an uncanny connection with the people he photographs, from Andy Warhol to Kiki Smith, John Cage to LL Cool J, and many other characters both celebrated and unknown. His self-taught style brings his subjects in close and captures, without sentimentality or voyeurism, the intimate essence of their daily lives. Populated with idiosyncratic characters, each of Marcopoulos' photographs is particular to a unique time and place; yet his images reach us through their expression of familiar themes such as the meaning of family, the solitude of nature, and the quest for adventure. Like all great photographers, Marcopoulos has the ability to distill a riveting and timeless image from the flux of activity that surrounds us.
 
Ari Marcopoulos - Never Done
2025
English edition
JRP|Editions - Monographs
forthcoming
A massive anthology of photographs made by Ari Marcopoulos between 2009 and 2018, featuring an introduction text by the artist as well as an essay by art critic, curator, and New York figure Bob Nickas..
Ari Marcopoulos - Boarding Pass
2018
no text
Nieves
A series of off-the-cuff photographs demonstrating the poetic experience of air travel (artist's book).
Ari Marcopoulos - Solon
2014
no text
Nieves
An intimate portrait gallery of Ari Marcopoulos' brother (artist's book).
Ari Marcopoulos - The Pope\'s Secrets
2014
no text
Nieves
Artist's book.
Ari Marcopoulos - Within Arm\'s Reach
2009
English edition
JRP|Editions - Monographs
sold out
The first retrospective monograph on Marcopoulos' work.
Ari Marcopoulos - Ad Rock - Adam Horovitz
2008
no text
Nieves
sold out
A series of portraits of the musician, guitarist, rapper, producer, and actor Adam Keefe Horovitz, member of the Beastie Boys under the name Ad Rock.
Ari Marcopoulos - Always and Never
2008
no text
Nieves
sold out
A one-off title by Ari Marcopolous combining old and new photographs in a unique body of work, thought to create a larger picture of Marcopoulos' work.
Ari Marcopoulos - The Cat
2006
no text
Nieves
sold out
A b/w portrait of the Norwegian snowboarder Terje Haakonsen.
Ari Marcopoulos - Even the President of the United States sometimes has got to stand naked
2005
English edition
JRP|Editions - Artists' books & editions
sold out
When the personal becomes political.


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