Lenny Kravitz turns his lens on glittering coterie of friends in New York exhibition
![Lenny Kravitz turns his lens on glittering coterie of friends in New York exhibition](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xAnDg7NQEB3tTiS2RBzcqc-415-80.jpg)
Rocker, actor, designer – not just a musician, Lenny Kravitz is in fact a man of many talents. A fact that storied champagne house Dom Pérignon evidently recognised when the brand appointed him creative director in May.
The company is known for commissioning diverse talents such as Tokujin Yoshioka, Jeff Koons, and Karl Lagerfeld to contribute their artistic viewpoints, so asking Kravitz to establish a new vision is not such a leap of faith. A longtime fan of Dom Pérignon and friend of chef de cave Richard Geoffroy, Kravitz’s first steps were to travel to Hautvillers, France to learn more about the winemaking process. From this a more extensive collaboration was born.
The first outcome of this partnership is ‘Assemblage,’ an exhibition of photographs by Kravitz. Debuting at New York’s Skylight Modern before it embarks on a global tour (and subsequent advertising campaign), the showcase captures a warm gathering of his friends and family (daughter Zoë Kravitz appears), captured socialising while ‘tasting the stars’.
Kravitz became captivated by photography as a child, when he would play with his father’s Leica camera. ‘My father gave me the camera when I was 21,’ he says. ‘When I was 24 I got a record deal, so I had to be in front of the camera, but I always thought it was far more interesting what was going on behind it.’ Over the years, Kravitz developed close relationships with photographers such as Mark Seliger and Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who taught him the craft.
For ‘Assemblage’, Kravitz referenced the work of another famed lensman. ‘I was very much inspired by the Studio 54 photographs of Ron Galella, who did all these wonderful shots of New York nightlife,’ he says. The black-and-white images in the Dom Pérignon exhibit were captured at the Stanley House, a 10,700 sq ft residence in the Hollywood Hills designed by Kravitz and XTEN Architecture. The musician started his firm Kravitz Design in 2003.
‘I took the interiors and architecture lane because that was something I was so interested in,’ he says. ‘I had no idea how to make it happen, but I basically used my own money to start the company.’ The studio has since completed projects including a collection with Philippe Starck for Kartell, product lines for CB2 and Flavor Paper, and the interiors of 75 Kenmare, a luxury condominium in Manhattan. ‘I got accepted into the design world by paying my dues, going to Milan, and spending time with designers,’ he adds.
It seems Kravitz’s multidisciplinary approach to creativity won’t be slowing down any time soon. ‘Music is my nucleus, but I’m just as passionate about design, photography, and acting,’ he says. ‘I’m always weaving the different mediums and it enables me to continue to be creative.’
Kravitz’s role will continue in 2019 with the release of a limited-edition bottle.
INFORMATION
‘Assemblage’ is on view until 6 October, register for tickets here. For more information, visit the Dom Pérignon website
ADDRESS
Skylight Modern
537 West 27th Street
New York
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
‘I don't know what art is, but we have to make these things to understand ourselves’: Antony Gormley in New York
Wallpaper* meets Antony Gormley as his new exhibition, ‘Aerial’ opens at White Cube New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
An avant-garde Korean art movement resurfaces in LA
LA's Hammer Museum gets its teeth into avant-garde Korean art with ‘Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s’
By Anne Soward Published
-
The New York art exhibitions to see in July
Read our pick of the best New York art exhibitions to see in July, from Jenny Holzer’s ‘Light Line’ at The Guggenheim to ‘Cosmography: an exploration of space and humanity’ at Templon
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Surreal, uncanny, seductive: step into Graham Little’s world
Scottish artist Graham Little presents his first US retrospective at The FLAG Art Foundation in New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The cosmos meets art history in Vivian Greven’s New York exhibition
Vivian Greven’s ‘When the Sun Hits the Moon’, at Perrotin in New York City, is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the USA
By Emily McDermott Published
-
‘LA Gun Club’: artist Jane Hilton on who’s shooting who
‘LA Gun Club’, an exhibition by Jane Hilton at New York’s Palo Gallery, explores American gun culture through a study of targets and shooters
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published