Platon
Pictures from the of the island of Paros
June 13, 2025 - September 28, 2025
New York-based photographer Platon is famous for his portraits of influential personalities from the worlds of politics, showbiz, culture and fashion. His "Photos of the island of Paros" are a reminiscence of the places of his childhood in Greece.
"The camera is nothing more than a tool. What matters is the story, the message, the feeling, the connection," says the photographer, who was born Platon Antoniou in London in 1968 and has Greek roots, about his work. And: "Taking a photo is a very technical thing, but I spend 99.9 % on this connection that allows me to reach someone. And that connection opens up the chance that you [the viewer] will feel something too." In his photographs, Platon captures the personality of his subjects. He pays attention to their gaze, their hands or a special expression on their face. Since his student days in London, he has photographed for international magazines such as Vogue, the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Premiere, Arena and the New Yorker. His portraits of Barack Obama, George Clooney, Bill Clinton, David Beckham, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have achieved international fame, as have his journalistic photo reportages, fashion photographs and advertising campaigns.
The white houses of Paros
Graphic composition of Platon
One characteristic of Platon's photographs is the graphic composition, another is the white backgrounds against which he places people and objects. Some viewers might be reminded of role models such as Richard Avedon or Irving Penn, Platon explains in the Netflix documentary "Abstract: The Art of Design". In fact, however, his "white backgrounds come from the white houses" on Paros, which he has known since his childhood. He returned to the island in the early 2000s at a turning point in his career. In this environment and among people "who don't give a damn whether they have wrinkles on their faces", he wanted to find authentic artistic expression again.
Fishermen, popes, sea urchins
Platon's "Photos of the island of Paros" form a panorama of people and objects
The result of Platon's recurring engagement with the island of Paros and its people is the series "Coming Home: Greece". Equipped only with a camera, no additional lighting and no studio, Platon relied on the sunlight and the personality of his subjects for these works. Back in New York, he and his team worked on the material for months, selecting portraits of children and old people, of a young woman in traditional costume, of popes and fishermen. Every detail - the pattern on a headscarf, hair clips, a cross, the handle of an umbrella or the folds of a pair of trousers - draws the viewer's attention. Motifs such as sea urchins, octopuses drying in the sun, a thistle or the tuning pegs of a bouzouki locate the pictures in the Greek island world. KiS - Kunst in Seefeld is dedicating its summer exhibition entitled "Photos from the island of Paros" to this extraordinary view of a place and its people and is showing an extensive selection from Plato's black and white series from the Jablonka collection.
David LaChapelle is an artist I didn't know like this before Rafael Jablonka asked me to open this exhibition. After dealing with him and this work I have to say: For me he is one of the great, one of the greatest artists of our time.
He was socialized as a Catholic like so many artists, for example Andy Warhol. Later, many, including LaChapelle, turned away from religion. What has remained, however, is the longing to produce images, which is inherent in Catholicism. This is exactly what David LaChapelle does, it seems as if he wanted to create the Bible itself with this cycle.
You can bring a bunch of morals with the Christian thought or just a voice at the right moment that says "you can't do that". This stops the policemen in the picture 'Intervention' from doing what they are doing.
LaChapelle does not make Catholic propaganda, but he shows people who set themselves free. They do it because they can. That's why, for me, these images are among the most grandiose of this genre.
Platon
Portraits of power and reports from life
Platon, born Platon Antinou in London in 1968, grew up in Greece. Trained in London at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art, he moved to New York. He became known for his portraits of influential personalities from Vladimir Putin to Donald Trump and Barack Obama to David Zuckerberg, George Clooney and Serena Williams. He visited the places of his childhood on the island of Paros at a turning point in his professional career. This resulted in the series "Coming Home: Greece", a selection of which can be seen at KiS - Kunst in Seefeld.
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