John Stezaker: " Dark Star," a series of collages

British artist John Stezaker is fascinated by the lure of images. Taking classic movie stills, vintage postcards and book illustrations, Stezaker makes collages to give old images a new meaning. Through his elegant juxtapositions, Stezaker adopts the content and contexts of the original images to convey his own witty and poignant meanings. His famous Mask series fuses the profiles of glamorous sitters with caves, hamlets, or waterfalls, making for images of eerie beauty.
In the mid-2000s, John Stezaker's work was rediscovered by the art market; he is now collected by several international collectors and museums.

His "Dark Star" series turns publicity portraits into cut-out silhouettes, creating an ambiguous presence in the place of the absent celebrity.
With over 90 works from the 1970s to today, this first major exhibition of John Stezaker reveals the subversive force of images, reflecting on how visual language can create new meaning.

John Stezaker is organised by the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and Mudam, Luxembourg.

John Stezaker, Love XI, 2006
Private Collection, Switzerland @The Artist

Pair IV, 2007
Private Collection @The Artist

Mask XXXV, 2007
Courtesy of Bona Montagu, London @The Artist

Pair I, 2007
Private Collection @The Artist

Mask X, 1982
Ringier Collection, Switzerland @The Artist

Sonata, 2009
Collection Stephen Bennett, Germany @The Artist

Pair XVII, 2007
Courtesy of the Artist and the Approach, London

Marriage (Film Portrait Collage) XXXII, 2007
Private Collection @The Artist

He (Film Portrait Collage) XIV, 2007
Courtesy of the Artist and the Approach, London

Marriage (Film Portrait Collage) LXI, 2010
Courtesy of the Artist and the Approach, London

All images courtesy of John Stezaker / The Whitechapel Gallery, London