Mark Seliger

Mark Seliger was born in Amarillo Texas in 1959, where he lived with his parents, Maurice and Carol Lee, and his two older brothers and younger sister, until 1964, when they moved to Houston. He attended Houston’s High School for Performing & Visual Arts and, from there, went on to attend East Texas State University, where his education began in earnest, as he studied the history of documentary photography. He moved to New York City in 1984.

In 1987, he began shooting for Rolling Stone. He was signed as their chief photographer in 1992. During his time at Rolling Stone, Seliger shot over 125 covers and began a long term collaborative relationship with Design Director, Fred Woodward, which continued into their work with GQ. They have co-directed numerous music videos for artists such as Hole, Lenny Kravitz, Gillian Welch and Elvis Costello.

In 2001, Seliger moved from Rolling Stone to Condé Nast. He shoots frequently for Vanity Fair, Elle, GQ, Italian Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and German Vogue.

In 2011, he founded a non-profit exhibition space for photography called 401 Projects, which has featured shows for James Nachtwey, Eugene Richards, Albert Watson, Platon, among others. He also hosts the Emmy-nominated show “Capture” on You Tube’s Reserve Channel, which focuses on candid conversations between established photographers such as Platon, Mary Ellen Mark, Martin Schoeller, Bob Gruen, etc and celebrities who are interested in photography (Dylan McDermott, Helena Christensen, Judd Apatow).

Seliger continues his love of the darkroom by using the platinum palladium process to create large-scale, 30”x40” prints, and his photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries.

In 2017, Seliger’s work became a part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2017

Mark Seliger, Christopher Street: Portraits, Von Lintel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2016

Christopher Street: Transgender Portraits, 231 Projects, New York, NY

2014

Mark Seliger,  Beetles + Huxley, London, England

2012        

Mark Seliger: Look and Listen, Photographers Limited Editions, Vienna, Austria

Capture, Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, CA

2011

MARK SELIGER: Listen, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York City, NY

2006      

In My Stairwell, Fahey / Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2012        

Three Years of Photo Art, Photographers Limited Editions, Vienna, Austria

2010

Inspired, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York City, NY

2007      

Ultrasonic International II: Translating Transience, Mark Moore Gallery, CA 

Selected Awards

2017

Cannes Lions Golden Lion Award

2015

ASME Reader’s Choice Award

2013

Cannes Lions Golden Lion Award

CLIO Grand Prix

2009      

Lucie Award Honoree for Achievement in Portraiture

2004      

The Society of Publication Designers Gold Medal Award of Excellence

The Society of Publication Designers Silver Medal Award of Distinctive Achievement

2002      

 The Society of Publication Designers Gold Medal Award

Country Music Video of the Year – Willie Nelson featuring LeAnn Womack

2001      

The Society of Publication Designers Gold Medal Award

American Photography Annual Certificate of Excellence

2000      

Photo District News Merit Award

American Photography Annual Certificate of Excellence for Sports Hall of Fame

1999      

Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Best Single Image

Selected Publications

Mark Seliger Photographs: Thirty-Years of Image Making (Abrams, 2018)

On Christopher Street: Transgender Stories (Rizzoli, 2016)

Listen (Rizzoli, 2010) 

Mark Seliger: The Music Book (teNeues, 2008)

In My Stairwell (Rizzoli, 2005)

Lenny Kravitz/Mark Seliger (Arena, 2001)

Physiognomy (Bullfinch, 1999)

When They Came to Take My Father – Voices from the Holocaust (Arcade, 1996)