Denis Piel
Lempaut
denis (b. 1944) is a photographer and film-maker.
In 1979 he was offered a contract by Alexander Liberman and subsequently worked as a Condé Nast photographer for a decade, shooting mainly for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Self.
He won the Leica Medal for Excellence in Commercial Photography in 1987 having worked with an international eclectic group of clients ; L'Oréal, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Fortune magazine, Estée Lauder, Shell, New Zealand and German telecoms, Singapore Airlines, Nestle… to mention just a few.
Recognized for his influential directorial approach within fashion photography, he fused an intimate narrative into the images he created.
He also directed and conceived commercials, notable the iconic New York campaign for Donna Karan and The Wool Board campaign, Australia.
In 1989 he left Condé Nast to concentrate on film. He continued with his commercial advertising work in both film and stills during this period, however he stopped shooting editorial work except for select assignments.
He produced and directed his first feature length documentary Love is Blind in the early 1990's.
In September 2012 Rizzoli published “Moments”, a retrospective of his work shot between 1979 and 2007.
His latest solo exhibition was at Rove Gallery in London in April-May 2013.
Presently he is working on his latest project Down to Earth. Shot over the period of one year, this series combines photographic dreamscapes featuring the human body within the natural landscape with photo documentation of the sustainable farming practices currently in place at Les Jardins du Château de Padiès. Flowing between reality and fantasy, these images explore the relationship between humans and nature through landscapes, still-lives, portraits and constructed realities. While moving in a new direction with these photographs, denis utilizes the storytelling and mastery of natural light that have always been the hallmarks of his work.
- Advertising
- Arts
- Audio editing
- Editorial
- Environment
- Fashion
- Landscape
- Portrait