Erik Madigan Heck, renowned for his fashion photography, is showcasing his artistic versatility in his latest book, *The Tapestry*, published by Thames & Hudson. The book features 180 of his works, blending photography with painting, and draws inspiration from historic tapestries, as well as Impressionist and contemporary paintings.
Heck is widely recognized for his fashion photography, with notable clients including Nike, Thom Browne, Gucci, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Comme des Garçons. For *The Tapestry*, he reimagines some of his earlier images by cropping, recoloring, and altering them, transforming his photographs into works that resemble paintings.
The idea for the book came to Heck during the 2020 pandemic shutdown. After spending a week in Paris working for Van Cleef & Arpels and Harper’s Bazaar, he found himself with more time than he knew what to do with. He saw this as an opportunity to explore new creative avenues beyond photography.
Heck has long admired artists who work with photographs, including Édouard Vuillard, Gerhard Richter, Harry Callahan, Marlene Dumas, Pierre Bonnard, and Caspar David Friedrich. However, instead of using photographs as the basis for paintings, as many artists do, he reimagines his own photographs as paintings. In the book, he describes himself as “a colorist,” and the work is a testament to his mastery of color and composition.
While Heck continues to be involved in fashion photography, he hopes his book will inspire others to create work that is classically beautiful and doesn’t rely on controversy to feel contemporary.
Created in collaboration with the design studio A Practice for Everyday Life, *The Tapestry* explores the intersections of photography, fashion, and contemporary art. The book includes an interview with Heck, offering readers insight into his creative process. Heck is also the author of several other books, including *Old Future*, *The Garden*, and *The Language of Flowers*. He is the founding director of *Nomenus*, an annual art publication.
Heck will discuss *The Tapestry* at an event with Vince Aletti at the Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City on Wednesday night.
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