Mario Testino
Thyssen-Bormemisza, Madrid
It is true that, beyond anything that might indirectly refer to the commercial aspects surrounding this exhibition, there is an important artistic background in the work of Mario Testino (Lima, Peru, 1954), which must be what one takes into account at the time of explaining why his inclusion within the walls of the Thyssen-Bornemisza was a good decision. Featuring an intereresting collection of his most representative works of the past fifteen years, Todo o nada may be considered an itinerary between the two facets of a fashion photographer: the public one, the commercial one, the one that is observed with desire and contributes the content reflected on the coated paper; and the more intimist one, in which advertising norms are pushed into the background.
In fashion photography, as in advertising photography, portrait editing has as much weight as the photographer’s eye. But it is precisely in this second aspect that, in Testino’s work, spontaneity and naturalness prevail in equal proportions at the moment of shooting the picture and in the attitude of the model that poses freely. The contrast between what are a priori two opposing worlds − clothing and nudity − allows the view- er to be aware of the irony which sometimes surrounds the world of fashion. Intimacy and freshness, rectitude and discipline, retouching and naturalness, concepts which, despite the fact that some may be conflicting, are component elements of the body of work of the Peruvian photographer who, with special cleverness, has managed to hang on the walls that host an art collection a world aimed at ephemeral consumption.
