Originally from Excelsior, Minnesota, Erik Madigan Heck (*1983) is one of the youngest and most promising American fashion photographers of the contemporary art scene. In his relatively short career the artist developed a personal way of looking at fashion, as Nathalie Herschdorfer underlines in her essay "Minimal and pure: Erik Madigan Heck fashion photographs". His work is characterized by a clear and distinctive treatment of colours and patterns, which makes it unequivocal.
"Heck’s photographs push the concept to new limits, creating imagery that goes beyond traditional fashion photography. Meticulously constructed and enhanced with bright colours, blurring the line between the clothes and the background, his images play with this idea of ‘future’ silhouettes". – Nathalie Herschdorfer
In 2017 Heck published his first monograph with Thames & Hudson and Abrams Books titled 'Old Future'. In his 'Old Future' series Madigan Heck explores the intersection of photography and painting as he borrows from and bends the genres of fashion photography, landscape painting and portraiture.
Madigan Heck is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, TIME, The New Yorker, and Harper's Bazaar UK. His advertising clients include Sotheby's, Clinique, Nike, Neiman Marcus, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The New York City Ballet, The GAP, VH1, Gentle Monster, amongst others. In 2013 he became one of the youngest photographers to receive the prestigious ICP Infinity Award, and in 2015 was awarded with the Art Directors Club’s Gold Medal and the AI-IP American Photography award for his Old Masters Portfolio, published by The New York Times Magazine.
Selected solo exhibitions
2020
The Garden, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
The Garden, Nicolas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Erik Madigan Heck: The Garden, Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
The Garden, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA
2019
Erik Madigan Heck, Staley-Wise Gallery, New York, USA
Old Future, Multimedia Art Museum Moscow (MAMM), Moscow, Russia
Old Future, Muséee des Beaux–Arts, Le Locle, Switzerland
2018
Art Imprimé: Triennale 2018, Musée des Beaux-Arts Le Locle, Le Locle, Switzerland
Photo London, Christophe Guye Galerie, London, UK
Old Future, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Old Future, Nicholas Metivier, Toronto, Canada
Erik Madigan Heck, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA
2017
Erik Madigan Heck: Old Future, Sotheby’s, New York, USA
Old Future, The Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
Erik Madigan Heck: Old Future, Sotheby’s, London, UK
Selected group exhibitions
2024
Artists of the Gallery, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Beyond Fashion, The Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2023
The Skin We Live In, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
2020
Scop Museum Shanghai, China
Annenberger Space for Photography, Los Angeles, California, USA
Xie Zilong Photography Museum, Changhai, China
2019
Beyond Fashion, Artistree, Hong Kong, China
The Photography Show 2019, Weinstein Hammons Gallery, London, UK
The Photography Show 2019, Staley-Wise Gallery, London, UK
2018
Beyond Fashion, ArtisTree, Taikoo Place, Hong Kong
FOAM Talent, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, Germany
FOAM Talent, Beaconsfield Gallery, London, UK
AIPAD, The Weinstein Hammons Gallery, New York, USA
FOAM Talent, Red Hooks Labs, New York, USA
2017
FOAM Talent, FOAM Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015
Camera Work, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons School for Design, New York, USA
2014
Fashion Photography Next: Don’t Stop Now, Foam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Selected publications
2017
Old Future, Thames & Hudson
2015
No Photos Please: Pictures Not Content, Self-published
2014
The Absorbed Tradition, Creem
Fashion Photography Next by Magda Keany, Thames & Hudson
2011
January to August, Self-published
Selected awards
2015
Art Directors Club Gold Medal for ‘The Old Masters’ Portfolio, The NY Times Magazine
2013
International Center for Photography, Infinity Award, Applied Fashion Category
