Danziger Gallery is pleased to announce a collaboration with Arman Naféei’s “ARE WE ON AIR?” Kiosk-o-thèque, a multi-media retail destination and gallery on Sunset Boulevard across from the Chateau Marmont. Presenting a selection of unique vintage Kodak prints by Antonio Lopez the show will open on April 4th at 6pm.
The foremost fashion illustrator of the 1970s and 80s, Antonio (as he signed his work) was and remains one of the most highly regarded and influential figures in the fashion world. While not initially known as a photographer, Antonio was rarely without his favorite Instamatic camera, and as his career progressed he turned increasingly to photography to create fashion stories, portraits, and elaborate mise-en-scènes.
On display will be a selection of Instamatic prints from the 1970s (processed by Kodak) that were Antonio’s preferred form. These unique and original works are presented in the grids and pairs that Antonio assembled.
A serial Svengali, Lopez brilliantly transformed the women in his world. Under his tutelage, Jerry Hall, a long tall Texan he met at Paris’s Club Sept, evolved into a golden goddess. He gave aspiring model Tina Lutz her start (and an introduction to future husband Michael Chow); and by spotlighting Pat Cleveland, a mixed-race model with a theatrical streak, he helped break down the color barrier in high fashion. Other favorite subjects were the two Graces - the young model and fashion editor Grace Coddington and singer and performer Grace Jones.. All are included in the show.
Antonio Lopez was born in Puerto Rico in 1943. He showed early promise as an artist making drawings for his mother who was a seamstress and dressmaker. He joined The New York Times in 1963 but was soon freelancing for Harper’s Bazaar, British Vogue and French Elle. In 1969 he moved to Paris where he was commissioned by all the leading fashion magazines. He returned to New York in 1975 creating numerous covers and picture stories for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine.
Antonio died in Los Angeles 1987.
The ARE WE ON AIR ? Kiosk-o-thèque is located at 8224 Sunset Blvd, across the road from the Chateau Marmont where Arman Nafèei had been the longtime Directeur d’ambiance. This exhibit of Antonio’s work will be the first art opening held at the just opened space, which is part book store, part gallery, part retail store, part podcast studio, part DJ Booth, and will become a tribute to Antonio’s work for these two weekends. Nafèei is also the host of the podcast ARE WE ON AIR? Guests include worldwide icons such as Patti Smith, Rick Owens, David Byrne, and Marina Abramović.