Martin Schoeller at Fotografiska

A luminous Cate Blanchett.

This past weekend I visited Fotografiska (The Swedish Museum of Photography) to see their latest exhibition: "Martin Schoeller - Up Close". Born in Germany and based now in New York, Schoeller got a great start to his career as assistant to the legendary Annie Leibovitz... queen of portrait photography (and the first photographer to be exhibited at Fotografiska). These days he is a well known portrait photographer himself with his work appearing in the pages of GQ, New Yorker, Time, Vogue and National Geographic among others.

Seymour Hoffman and Dench.

Douglas, Jolie and more...

This exhibition (running until February 7th, 2016) is actually the first time Schoeller's four photographic series are being exhibited at the same time. His style of detailed, close-up photography makes his portraits much more interesting than other variations of the genre. In his series you will find all types of politicians, sport heroes and movie stars. Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic even makes an appearance. Some other portraits are less up close, but still very interesting... Usain Bolt posing at the Met or Brad Pitt and George Clooney playing croquet for example.

Usain Bolt at the Met.

Clooney and Pitt.

I also took a look at another of their exhibitions while at Fotografiska... their Höstsalong ("Autumn Salon"). This is a collection of work from 24 amateur and professional photographers, chosen by a jury from among 2304 applications. The works represent of wide range of styles, techniques and subject matter. Showing until November 22nd.

"Höstsalong"

"Höstsalong"

I always find Fotografiska worth a visit and, located on the Södermalm waterfront, it is easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... just a 15-20 minute walk away. Or else you can take the subway to Slussen and then walk 10 minutes along the waterfront to get to the museum. One good thing to consider when planning a visit to the museum is that they are open until 11pm every evening and they have an award winning restaurant on the top floor with great views of the harbor. Make sure you don't miss their gift shop either... nirvana for anyone interested in the art of photography.

Entrance to Fotografiska.

Great gift shop and book store!