Xanadu
Aspen, Colorado – 2023
There is no doubt that Aspen is the most notorious, scandal ridden ski resort in the world. Its mere name evokes imagery of heavy partying, glamour and celebrities, which is a little unfair on all those that go up the hill from Glenwood Springs simply to ski. Good things have happened in the town, but so have many bad things, which makes it delicious material for the Storyteller.
70 years after the silver market burst at the turn of the century, Aspen boomed bigger and louder than it ever had before. It was a freewheeling bohemian paradise with rock and roll as important to its very essence as skiing itself. The question was not as much which area to ski, but whether to hang with The Eagles, John Denver or Jimmy Buffett.
By the early 70s The J Bar at the storied Jerome Hotel was firmly established as a drinking venue and I have heard stories of bartenders turning a blind eye to high profile figures brazenly doing lines of coke off the counter in broad daylight. It was in keeping with the vibe of the era that Hunter Thompson ran for sheriff and was taken seriously. The rich and famous ran amok in Aspen.
I desperately wanted to take a photograph in a prominent place in Aspen that looked as if it had been taken in the hipster days of the early 70s. The car was sourced by connected locals and Nicole Allowitz’s styling of Kate Bock and Josie Canseco was – as always – on point. But I needed a little more and the heavy snowfall give me the chance to make the background timeless.
This could be 1973 and what a time everyone must have had, if only they could remember.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 73” in (142.2 cm x 185.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 88” in (180.3 cm x 223.5 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 48” in (93.98 cm x 121.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 63” in (132.1 cm x 160 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Montana Baby
Big Timber, Montana – 2023
“As we continue our journey across the length and breadth of America, there is one place that we keep returning to with a frequency that hints at a very strong bond. That place is Montana. For film makers it offers so many canvases on which to tell stories; from majestic “Big Sky” scenery to marooned saloons where the walls talk of the olden days.
Over the years we have established deep friendships in the state with locals who can help either as extras or in logistics. I feel we have the full tool kit here and it shows in our work.
I am not alone in feeling a visceral sense of belonging when I step outside Bozeman airport. As the great American writer John Steinbeck wrote of Montana:
“For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyse love when you’re in it.”
This photograph, taken with American model Brooks Nader, makes me smile. It’s The Crazy Mountains in the background and as all those who know Brooks will testify, she operates just outside sanity. But she is smart, adorable and the camera loves her.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 98” in (142.2 cm x 248.9 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 113” in (180.3 cm x 287 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 65” in (93.98 cm x 165.1 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 80” (132.1 cm x 203.2 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Shangri La
Big Sky, Montana – 2023
“There is no ski resort story like Big Sky, Montana. The growth in the whole community is staggering and it is now established as one of the premier ski towns in the world. The proximity of the legendary Yellowstone Club brings elite professional sports stars, Hollywood and seemingly most of the leading business figures of the day. Big Sky is the home of the over achiever and sometimes it makes the Davos economic summit look second tier.
As we continue our ski series in America and Europe, we thought it was time to shoot here and play to the glamour that its huge ski area and its clubs and hotels attract. It is America’s new Shangri La.
It is an oddity of America that so many of the nation’s great ski resorts are in frontier mining towns such as Aspen, Telluride in Colorado or in cowboy country like Big Sky in Montana.
I thought that cowboy hats would combine well with the vintage styling that day and both girls – Holly Graves and Jenna Grimes – did a fantastic job in extremely cold conditions up by the Montage Hotel in Spanish Peaks. We were fortunate that it had snowed the night before which lent some abstract shapes to the background.
The wolf (Tamaskan) seemed an appropriate addition to the set. After all, Yellowstone National Park is on Big Sky’s doorstep, and he is a metaphor for many a man who would have enjoyed that ski trip.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 95” in (142.2 cm x 241.3 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 110” in (180.3 cm x 279.4 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 63” in (93.98 cm x 160 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 78” (132.1 cm x 198.1 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Well, I’m A-Standin' on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona
Winslow, Arizona – 2022
“Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner In Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord,
In a flat-bed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me
These famous lyrics from The Eagles 1972 smash hit “Take It Easy” are sung every day of every year in bars throughout America. Winslow should not be on any map, never mind in someone’s head, but then the Eagles came along and secured this unremarkable town’s fame.
For some months I had laboured over how best to tell this story. Google has changed all our lives, but I still think there is no replacement for a site vis- it. And so, with no crew or cameras, I found myself on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and just looked and looked.
The commemorative statues and the facade with the flatbed Ford offered a good backdrop to which I could add many more men standing in that corner. The sense of place could be a blurred merger of the facade and then my extras. The facade is so good; I particularly liked the couple making out through the upstairs window.
The truth is that the sassy girl in the car was just a little too good for the adoring men of Winslow. It was a fine sight to see, but that was where the story ended. Everyone was standing that day – including the girl and her unlikely passenger.
Take it easy.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 56” x 94" in (142.24 cm x 238.76 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 109” in (180.34 cm x 276.86 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 37” x 62" (93.98 cm x 157.48 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 77" (132.08 cm x 195.58 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Route 66
Arizona, USA – 2022
“Route 66 – The Mother Road – will al- ways be a symbol of America’s post war freedom and geographical mo- bility. It evokes imagery of roadside motels, diners and 1950s Cadillacs. America is the home of the road trip and Route 66 is its poster child.
Much of the road that ran from Santa Monica through California, Arizona, New Mexico and then north to Chicago has either disappeared or been supplanted by interstate highways, but good sections of it do remain, as do the towns that grew up servicing the needs of those on the road.
In the autumn of 2022, I scouted for shooting locations in California and Arizona that would emphatically offer a Route 66 vibe and I found it to be a challenge. So many of the motels and diners along the route are either abandoned or worse still have become rather kitsch tourist at- tractions. To find a set that was both authentic and operational seemed mutually exclusive.
But then I stumbled across the town of Holbrook – 100 miles east of Flag- staff in Arizona. There are some real gems in this small town and none more so than the Wigwam Motel that saddles up right next to Route 66.
We went to see the owner – a charming man called Clifton Lewis – and he agreed to allow us to film in the courtyard outside the reception. It was ideal for what we were looking for.
The Wigwam Motel is still operation- al and was fully occupied the night of the shoot, so some of us stayed in a properly rundown motel around the corner. My room rate was $56 which I felt was perhaps $50 too expensive. But it was all so worth it. Holbrook is as good a canvas on which to tell a Route 66 story as I know; to drive through sections of the old town is to go back 60 years.
I chose Josie Canseco as the lead on this project as I knew she could wear a glamorous 1950s vibe very well. I was right and this photograph is as good as I could have imagined when I started exploring the creative concept.
Have you slept in a Wigwam lately?”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 56” x 74" (142.24 cm x 187.96 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 89” (180.34 cm x 226.06 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12 + 3 AP
- Image size: 37” x 49" (93.98 cm x 124.46 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 64” (132.08 cm x 162.56 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Hot Chicks
Montana, USA – 2022
The VS model Josie Canseco is a regular muse for me in my wild west series; the camera loves her and she knows how I work. This photograph in the Crazy Mountain Ranch near Livingston, Montana was made by a late shaft of evening light giving Josie and the wolf a warm glow and allowing them both to pop out from the saloon behind.
Our shoot in the faux wild west frontier town would not have been possible without the support of Sam Byrne and his team at the Yellowstone Club. Under their ownership, the Crazy Mountain Ranch looks set to have an exciting future and I hope the series of photographs I took that day in February 2022 will find their way onto some walls in the wider Montana area.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 81” in (142.24 cm x 205.74 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 96” in (180.34 cm x 243.84 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 53” in (93.98 cm x 134.62 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 68” in (132.08 cm x 172.72 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Summer of '75 (Colour)
Los Angeles, California – 2022
Spielberg once said “a good idea almost always starts off as a bad idea, that’s why it takes so long”.
I am drawn to filming road stories as the road can direct the viewer and the implicit journey is an allegory of the journey of life; we are all on our own road trip.
Sunset Boulevard does not split landscapes with the majesty and grandeur of the deserts of the South West, but it is up there for me as one of the most exciting stretches of road in America. It is the heart of movie land and the massive billboards on the strip in West Hollywood leave the driver in no doubt that they are in the entertainment capital of the world.
My favourite filming location on the boulevard is looking west on the border of West Hollywood and Hollywood. In part because I can give a nod to one of the most famous hotels in the world without killing the compositional balance and in part because the famous vertical billboard, so often used by Marlboro in the old days, is in the heart of the image.
It is a special part of Americana and I am surprised that American icons have not been filmed more often in this location. I guess one reason is that it’s a very busy road and shutting it down for filming is not easy.
The idea of shooting here needed work and refinement. We needed a lead, we needed to close the road down and then we needed a creative idea around which to wrap everything. My choice of lead was easy; Cindy Crawford is made for this shot. The closure of the road restricted our window to a Sunday morning between sunrise and 8 am, which meant a 4.30 am wake up. But Cindy is the most punctual, professional and willing of all the stars with whom we work.
The creative processing was the key. I decided that we could go back in time to an era when Hollywood was free rolling, liberal and fun and all the props would emphatically play to that moment in time. It was the love and peace summer of 1975.
Cindy’s team of stylist Nicole Allowitz; hair stylist Pete Savic and make up star Sam Visser are one hell of a crew and she looked absolutely fantastic. My job is easy with her on board and as always, we had a blast. I wanted a mid 70s vibe and Cindy’s team and my production team delivered.
I am pleased that one of the greatest films of all time – Jaws – takes care of the Marlboro billboard. As its iconic director said “good ideas take time”.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 70” in (142.24 cm x 177.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 85” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 46” in (93.98 cm x 116.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 61" in (132.08 cm x 154.94 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Summer of '75
Los Angeles, California – 2022
Spielberg once said “a good idea almost always starts off as a bad idea, that’s why it takes so long”.
I am drawn to filming road stories as the road can direct the viewer and the implicit journey is an allegory of the journey of life; we are all on our own road trip.
Sunset Boulevard does not split landscapes with the majesty and grandeur of the deserts of the South West, but it is up there for me as one of the most exciting stretches of road in America. It is the heart of movie land and the massive billboards on the strip in West Hollywood leave the driver in no doubt that they are in the entertainment capital of the world.
My favourite filming location on the boulevard is looking west on the border of West Hollywood and Hollywood. In part because I can give a nod to one of the most famous hotels in the world without killing the compositional balance and in part because the famous vertical billboard, so often used by Marlboro in the old days, is in the heart of the image.
It is a special part of Americana and I am surprised that American icons have not been filmed more often in this location. I guess one reason is that it’s a very busy road and shutting it down for filming is not easy.
The idea of shooting here needed work and refinement. We needed a lead, we needed to close the road down and then we needed a creative idea around which to wrap everything. My choice of lead was easy; Cindy Crawford is made for this shot. The closure of the road restricted our window to a Sunday morning between sunrise and 8 am, which meant a 4.30 am wake up. But Cindy is the most punctual, professional and willing of all the stars with whom we work.
The creative processing was the key. I decided that we could go back in time to an era when Hollywood was free rolling, liberal and fun and all the props would emphatically play to that moment in time. It was the love and peace summer of 1975.
Cindy’s team of stylist Nicole Allowitz; hair stylist Pete Savic and make up star Sam Visser are one hell of a crew and she looked absolutely fantastic. My job is easy with her on board and as always, we had a blast. I wanted a mid 70s vibe and Cindy’s team and my production team delivered.
I am pleased that one of the greatest films of all time – Jaws – takes care of the Marlboro billboard. As its iconic director said “good ideas take time”.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 70” in (142.24 cm x 177.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 85” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 46” in (93.98 cm x 116.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 61" in (132.08 cm x 154.94 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Americana
The roll out of the road system in America accelerated geographical mobility and the pursuit of the American dream. The country is, and always will be, the home of the road trip. Motorbikes and roadside diners and gas stations became enduring cultural symbols of America.
Meanwhile, the Harley Davidson evolved into an iconic American brand and bikers themselves carved their own archetype and story in a rapidly developing society. There was a spirit of freedom captured so well in the 1969 movie Easy Rider and by bands such as the Eagles, who encouraged us to “take it easy”.
Whilst I did not take this photograph standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and whilst none of the bikers look remotely like Peter Fonda, there is a deliberate nostalgic nod to a freewheeling era in American history. My goal was to make a photograph to elicit memories of the America we once knew.
But this vignette is, of course, completed by perhaps America’s most loved supermodel – Cindy Crawford. We could not possibly use any other person in this shoot, as the set we had chosen was the very diner she made famous in the iconic Pepsi advert of 1992.
There may be no cowboys in this photograph or baseball bats or country music references, but there is enough to make it quintessential Americana.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 12:
- Image: 56” x 56" (143 cm x 143 cm)
- Framed: 67” x 67" (171 cm x 171 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20:
- Image size: 37” x 37" (94 cm x 94 cm)
- Framed size: 48” x 48" (122 cm x 122 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Daily News
Proof again that Cindy Crawford is gold dust for a photographer. She looks quite sensational in this “film noir” piece taken at the very location made famous by her Pepsi commercial in 1992.
My idea was to build a 1950s set and shoot at night; not just to add drama and contrast, but also to legitimize the period evening glam look. One I knew Cindy would excel in.
In the weeks running up to the shoot, I played around with a few possible narratives and I was drawn to the concept of a film set within a film set. I had long admired Peter Lindberg’s work for the Breitling Squad campaign which also played on this theme and I also knew how Hollywood always enjoys work showcasing itself. The nod to Peter Lindberg was apposite as he and Cindy often collaborated together to great effect.
It dawned on me that those with cameras could be press men as opposed to film makers and the narrative could lean on the intense media interest Hollywood stars have long received. Since the Press tend to hang as a pack, I could play on that and throw in a wolf. The premise was that the vignette should live and breathe cinema.
My instincts were that Cindy should be enjoying the attention and her face should glow, not scowl. Over the years I have learnt that she is very comfortable playing a role and the look certainly works here.
The still cameraman in the photograph is Dimitri Dimitrov – Sunset Tower’s much loved and celebrated Maître D. He has had so many cameo roles in Hollywood over the years and I did not want to miss out. Cindy and I were delighted to have him on set – as were my family who adore him.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20
-
Image: 56” x 84"
-
Framed: 67” x 95"
STANDARD - Edition of 20
- Image: 37” x 55"
- Framed: 48” x 66"
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.