Jessica Craig-Martin

Though she is known for her photographs depicting signs of wealth, Jessica Craig-Martin explains that her images are never portraits: "I see them as abstract studies of sequins, evicted mollusks, and air-conditioned mink." Often cropping the faces of her subjects out of the frame, Craig-Martin instead focuses her lens on the smaller details found at high-society parties and in celebrity circles—such as smeared lipstick or a fur collar—shedding light on an obsession with surface. As the artist notes, "One is never so naked as when dressed for a party."

Using high exposure and elevated contrast, Craig-Martin's close-ups represent the vanity, excess, and arcane social rituals of our culture, while simultaneously providing commentary on the vulnerability of her subjects and what she describes as their "failed armor."

She has worked as a photographer for various publications including Vogue, Vanity Fair, W, and the New Yorker. Her work has been exhibited in solo shows at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, MoMA PS1, and White Columns, and included in group exhibitions at the National Arts Club in New York, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the International Center of Photography, the New Museum, and the Saatchi Collection, among other venues.