The Church: Artist Talk w/ Portrait Photographer Martin Schoeller, April 18th @ 4 PM

ARTIST TALK with
MARTIN SCHOELLER,
Photographer

—————-

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
4 PM

TICKETS:

General Ticket: $25

Member Ticket: $20

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martin Schoeller, esteemed and world renown contemporary portrait photographer joins us for a rare area appearance to delve into his life and process behind the lens. One of the ten photographers featured in our exhibition A Thousand Words: Photography at the New Yorker, Schoeller is an internationally renowned artist who began photographing for The New Yorker in 1998 and has contributed to magazines and campaigns around the world, including National Geographic, Vanity Fair, TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone and GQ, among others. In June 2025, he was honored at the Lucie Awards for his Achievement in Portraiture.

Most known for his extreme close-up portraits, a series in which familiar faces are treated with the same scrutiny as the unfamous. The stylistic consistency of this work creates a democratic platform for comparison between his subjects, challenging a viewer’s existing notions of celebrity, value and honesty. This artist talk will explore his vast body of work, which captures both the humanity inherent in all of us and the imagination and playfulness of the human spirit. Other notable projects include his Colin Kaepernick image in Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. This image went along to win the prestigious D&AD Black Pencil and the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes.

Join us for the rare opportunity to catch the in-demand and on-the-move photographer with an eye for honesty and learn from his experience and expertise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARTIN SCHOELLER

Martin Schoeller (b. 1968, Germany) is one of the world’s preeminent contemporary portrait photographers. He is most known for his extreme close-up portraits, a series in which familiar faces are treated with the same scrutiny as the un-famous. The stylistic consistency of this work creates a democratic platform for comparison between his subjects, challenging a viewer’s existing notions of celebrity, value, and honesty.

Growing up in Germany, Schoeller was deeply influenced by August Sander’s countless portraits of the poor, the working class, and the bourgeoisie, as well as Bernd And Hilla Becher, who spawned a school of photographic typology known as the Becher-Schüler. Schoeller’s close-up portraits emphasize, in equal measure, facial features, of his subjects – world leaders and indigenous groups, movie stars and the homeless, athletes and artists – leaving them in an inherently democratic fashion.

Schoeller studied photography at the Letter Verein and moved to New York in the mid-1990s where he began his career. Producing portraits of people he met on the street, his work soon gained recognition for its strong visual impact and since 1998 he has contributed to publications such as National Geographic, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and GQ, among others.

Martin’s print and motion work has appeared in many major advertising campaigns. His work has won multiple awards, notably receiving praise for his Colin Kaepernick image in Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. This image went along to win the prestigious D&AD Black Pencil and the Outdoor Gran Prix at Cannes. Other advertising clients include Volvo, Chevron, Allstate, HBO, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Mercedes, DreamWorks, Southwest Airlines, GE and Johnnie Walker.

Schoeller’s portraits are exhibited and collected internationally, as well as part of the permanent collection of the Museo Jumex, Mexico, the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, the National Portrait Gallery, Australia and the National Musuem, Sweeden. Martin lives and works in New York City.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Church was established in 2019 by artists Eric Fischl and April Gornik. Housed in a deconsecrated 19th-century church, its doors were opened in April 2021. Our mission is to foster creativity and to honor the living history of Sag Harbor as a maker village. The East End represents an exceptional artistic legacy, spanning the practices of indigenous art of several centuries ago, Abstract Expressionists of the mid-20th Century, and the many celebrated writers, makers, musicians, and visual artists of the recent past and current moment. Core programming includes visual art exhibitions, concerts and events, educational programming, workshops, lectures, and an artist’s residency.

——————-

The Church’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

——————————-

The Church

48 Madison Street

Sag Harbor, NY

www.thechurchsagharbor.org

=============================================