John Malkovich Recreates Historic Portraits With Sandro Miller In An Exhibition At Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Sandro Miller is a Chicago based photographer who has been photographing people for over thirty years. He became interested in photography at the age of sixteen when he first saw the work of Irving Penn.

In the course of his career Miller has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world for major USA national advertising campaigns but recently he embarked on a project of a very different kind.

Miller first met the actor John Malkovich 17 years ago during a photo session. They have worked together on numerous projects over the years from short films to photographic stories. Miller says that Malkovich is like a beautiful canvas that's ready to paint. Based on this Miller pitched a project which involved paying homage firstly to Irving Penn by recreating a set of famous photos using Malkovich's chameleon like skill to recreate each image's personality through make up and, well, acting.

The first photo they set about working was on Irving Penn's portrait of Truman Capote. The portrait was such a success that the seeds to a new exhibition, opening at the Catherine Edelman gallery in Chicago in November, were born. The show is called Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage To Photographic Masters and pays homage to all of the great photographers that inspired Sandro Miller.

Inside the exhibition Malkovich will play boys, girls, men, women and he will transform himself from Marilyn Monroe to Che Guevera, Salvador Dali and Betty Davis amongst others; paying homage to the great photographers that snapped each of the portraits that are being recreated.

Miller says that working with Malkovich was brilliant because the actor was such a perfectionist and worked with make up and hair artists for nearly 2 hours before each shoot coaxing himself into the persona of each person before being put in front of the camera. This was backed by a concerted effort to pin point exactly and replicate every detail and nuance in terms of set, lighting and wardrobe in each of the original portraits.

If you love John Malkovich then I consider this an absolute must. It fuses all of the greatness of Being John Malkovich with pop culture.

The show makes it's debut at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago  on November 7, 2014 and shows through to January 31, 2015 before it moves to Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Paris and then onto Italy. Click here for more information

Homage to Annie Leibowitz: John And Yoko: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Albert Watson: Alfred Hitchcock: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Irving Penn: Truman Capote: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Diane Arbus: Idential Twins: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Irving Penn: Pablo Picasso : © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Philippe Halsman: Salvador Dali: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Homage to Victor Skrebneski: Bette Davis: © Sandro Miller courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago

Keep a look out in the coming weeks for the following which will appear in French newspaper Liberation.

"Exclusive John Malkovich interview with French publication 7-POST and French newspaper Liberation, coming in October."