Martin Parr

“...the first priority is to make a picture that is entertaining and good to look at, and also one that relates to people's lives...” — Martin Parr

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Martin Parr is renowned as one of the UK’s greatest photographers of human life.

Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, UK (b. 1952). His budding interest in the medium of photography was encouraged by his grandfather George Parr, himself a keen amateur photographer. Ever since, he has become a chronicler of our age.

A full member of the international photo agency Magnum since 1994, and between 2013 – 2017 he was president of Magnum Photos. His work challenges the deluge of media images with his distinctive perspective. His work often features exaggerated and colourful motifs, exploring themes of leisure, consumption, and communication worldwide. Through criticism, seduction, and humour, he offers insightful and entertaining commentary on contemporary society.

The Martin Parr Foundation, founded in 2014, and registered as a charity in 2015 opened premises in his hometown of Bristol in 2017. It houses his own archive, his collection of British and Irish photography by other photographers, and a gallery.

Artist CV

Critically acclaimed

In 2021 he was awarded a CBE for his services to photography. In May 2023 Parr is honoured with the Photo London Master of Photography Award.

Major institutions

Photographs by Martin Parr are held in numerous public collections including: Tate Gallery, London; the Arts Council of Great Britain; V&A, London; The Hepworth, Wakefield, Yorkshire; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles County Museum; Australian National Gallery, Canberra.

Solo exhibitions

His institutional solo exhibitions in recent years include Only Human, National Portrait Gallery, London (2019); Think of Scotland, Aberdeen Art Gallery (2019); Martin Parr Retrospective, NRW-Forum, Dusseldorf (2019); and We Love Sports, Camera, Turin (2021) to name a few.

Martin has worked with Rocket Gallery, London since 1997. Rocket have collaborated on twelve exhibitions with him, most recently ‘Sports & Spectatorship’ in 2023.

Publications

Martin is a world authority on the photobook. He has published over 125 books of his own photography. Most recently, in 2024 saw the release of 'Fashion Faux Parr' published by Phaidon Press and 'Fashion Eye United Kingdom' published by Louis Vuitton.