David Rose believes the secret to exceptional images lies in an ability to truly connect with his subject. His greatest strength as a photographer lies in his human touch. And nowhere is that more apparent than in this debut exhibition of Bisbee’s Rare Birds at Artemizia Foundation’s Gallery 818.
Throughout his career, Rose has captured extraordinary portraits of big personalities - from world leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Angela Merkel, and Hillary and Bill Clinton, to superstar celebrities such as U2, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Sheryl Crow, Metallica, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Kanye West, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, Clint Eastwood, Nicole Kidman, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, Mike Tyson, and more.
Rose began his career with the esteemed fashion photographer Bill King in New York City, where he worked with all the “Original Supermodels.” But it was not until King “loaned him out” to the legendary Annie Leibovitz that Rose’s passion for portrait photography was ignited. Hired as Leibovitz’s First Assistant, he discovered a talent for eliciting the dramatic and unexpected from his subjects.
Later, Rose spent nearly two decades as Bruce Springsteen’s principal photographer, shooting album covers (Lucky Town and Human Touch), documenting tours, and taking intimate, behind-the-scenes family photos that only Springsteen’s closest friends, family, and trusted colleagues have ever seen. His work has appeared in major publications, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Playboy, National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, Musician Magazine, and Newsweek.
Bisbee’s Rare Birds exhibition showcases the first of Rose’s photo sculpture work, a project that has been brewing since he moved to Bisbee in 2012. “There is no place in the world quite like Bisbee,” he says. “The creative climate here is collaborative and perpetually evolving, an infinite source of artistic inspiration.”
