By Brian Duffy
Located in London, GB
REGGIE KRAY & GRANDFATHER JIMMY ‘CANNONBALL’ LEE – LONDON 1967
signed limited edition silver gelatin print
Reggie Kray of the London gangster duo the Krays twins - shot by Duffy sparring with his Grandad – The infamous bare-knuckle boxer Jimmy ‘Cannonball’ Lee in London’s East End 1967.
AT DUFFY’S MEMORIAL SERVICE LORD DAVID PUTTNAM ADDRESSED THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF DUFFY AND SAID ‘THE WORLD NEEDS MORE DUFFY’S.’ HE THEN WENT ON TO CALL HIM A MAVERICK, SOMEBODY WHO WAS PREPARED TO TAKE RISKS WITH HIS ART FORM AND DESCRIBED DUFFY AS A ‘SUPREMELY TALENTED AND ESOTERIC MAN.’
‘A man who thrived on risks and challenges, who lived to create.’
In 2013 Duffy was voted as one of the top most 100 influential photographer’s of all time and he richly deserves that title. When Duffy felt he had pushed the boundaries as far as he could and was no longer satisfied with stills photography he abruptly shut his studio, attempted to burn all of his negatives and moved into commercials.
Despite repeated requests to return to still photography, give interviews or discuss his career, he became reclusive and his remaining negatives would have stayed in boxes under the stairs had it not been for the persistence of his eldest son, Chris.
Chris realised that Duffy’s name was slowly slipping into obscurity and regularly tried to persuade him to do something with his remaining archive. It wasn’t until 2006 when Duffy was diagnosed with the degenerative lung disease Pulmonary Fibrosis that he finally gave Chris the green light to start putting the archive together. The process was a labour of love for the first few years. Organising, scanning and databasing his negatives took many hours whilst Chris was running his own photographic studio.
In 2009 the opportunity to exhibit at Chris Beetles Gallery in Mayfair London (now Beetles & Huxley) gave Duffy the platform for his first ever exhibition which was hailed with great critical acclaim. The exhibition ignited an incredible interest in his work and there were regular queues to see the show.
During the process of putting the exhibition together, the BBC commissioned a documentary on Duffy’s life and work which aired in 2010. Chris then started on the first monograph but sadly Duffy was never to see this and passed away on 31st May 2010. Since 2010 Duffy’s work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries around the world. In 2012 the Victoria and Albert Museum requested use of the original Aladdin Sane record cover ‘dye transfer’ print for their British Design 1948-2012 cultural exhibition. In 2013 the V&A approached the archive for use of the newly released ‘Eyes Open’ version as the lead image for the ‘David Bowie is’ exhibition.
This exhibition has achieved record breaking numbers in several venues and has been seen by over 1.5 million visitors. Duffy’s name has now become recognised by an international audience and is now firmly back on the map.
In 2014 Duffy’s second book was released – Duffy Bowie: Five Sessions which covers his work with David Bowie. Written by Chris Duffy and Kevin Cann the book explores the chemistry and creation of these five iconic sets of images illustrated with interviews from people who were directly involved. The book is also available in French and Italian.
The archive is made up of negatives and contact sheets that have been retrieved from numerous UK and international publications; Vogue, French Elle, Glamour, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph to name but a few in addition to work held by independent archives. The process of exhibiting Duffy’s work continues and the future holds several more book projects illuminating Duffy’s eclectic and influential work.
ARCHIVE TIMELINE
2008 The Duffy Archive was established by Chris Duffy.
2009 BBC Documentary “The Man Who Shot The Sixties” One hour documentary on Duffy’s life and work. First exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery Mayfair, London (now Beetles & Huxley)* See Exhibits page for full list of exhibition since 2009
2010 Duffy passed away 31st May 2010
2011 Publication of first monograph “Duffy Photographer” Published by ACC Editions features over 160 iconic images from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and in 2011 the V&A Museum London requested Duffy prints for their permanent collection.
2012 Solo Exhibitions and contributions in Italy, Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London and Australia. See Exhibitions section for more exhibits.
2013 David Bowie Is launched at the V&A Museum with Aladdin Sane as the lead image. Also named as one of one hundred ‘most influential photographers of all time’ by the British Journal of Photography. See Exhibitions section for more exhibits.
2014 Publication of Duffy / Bowie – “Five Sessions” Published by ACC Editions. Publication of French Elle – “In The Eyes of Brian Duffy” – Published in French by Glenat. David Bowie Is V&A Exhibition goes on tour to: Sao Paulo, Berlin and Chicago. See Exhibitions section for more exhibits.
2015 David Bowie 'Is' continues to tour Paris, Australia and the Netherlands.
See Exhibitions section for more exhibits.
2016 David Bowie 'Is' continues to tour Italy and Japan. See Exhibitions section for more exhibits.
2017 David Bowie 'Is' reaches Barcelona. The Archive also contributed to Holden Luntz Gallery...
Category
1960s Modern Art by Medium: Silver Gelatin
