David LaChapelle: Dear Sonja,

Retrospective Exhibition Spans Four Decades of the Artist's Career

Above Image: Detail of David LaChapelle, "Light Within," 1986. © David LaChapelle. Courtesy of the artist.

On View Feb. 27 – July 20, 2025 | Main Gallery

NCMA Winston-Salem (formerly SECCA) is proud to present David LaChapelle: Dear Sonja, a special retrospective exhibition featuring more than 80 works spanning 40 years of the artist's career. An opening reception with the artist and curator will be held Thursday, Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Get Exhibition Tickets | Admission is free for members.

David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1963 and attended high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Originally enrolled as a painting student with a reverence for art history, he developed his analog photograph-editing technique by hand painting negatives to achieve an abstract spectrum of color before processing his film.

At age seventeen LaChapelle moved to New York City. Following his first photography show at 303 Gallery, he was hired by Andy Warhol to work at Interview magazine. Through his mastery of color, unique composition, and imaginative narratives, LaChapelle began to expand the genre of photography. By 1997 the New York Times predicted he "is certain to influence the work of a new generation ... in the same way that Mr. [Richard] Avedon pioneered so much of what is familiar today" in portrait and fashion photography.

In the decades since, LaChapelle has become one of the most published photographers globally, and many of his works have become iconic archetypes of America in the twenty-first century. Featuring over eighty prints, drawings, and videos across the NCMA's two campuses, David LaChapelle: Picture Show (NCMA) and Dear Sonja, (NCMA Winston-Salem) honor the artist's journey over the past four decades. This section of the artist's retrospective surveys many of his iconic, staged tableau works and interpretive series, including Deluge and Jesus Is My Homeboy.

David LaChapelle: Dear Sonja, is co-curated by David LaChapelle Studio and Maya Brooks, and organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation, Inc.; and the William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment for Educational Exhibitions. Research for this exhibition was made possible by Ann and Jim Goodnight/The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Curatorial and Conservation Research and Travel.

NCMA Winston-Salem would like to thank our Sponsors:
Workplace Options
Alan and Benjamin King

EXHIBITION PROGRAMS

Artist Talk with David LaChapelle
Friday, February 28, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Enjoy a special artist talk with exhibiting artist David LaChapelle and curator Maya Brooks, followed by a Q&A and book signing.
Register

Study Hall: The Photographer's Mirror
March 5 / March 12 / March 19 / March 26 | 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Join C. Stephen Hurst, director of Photography at Sawtooth School for Visual Art, for a four-part seminar exploring the role photography plays in our lives, and its enduring significance in an increasingly digital age.
Register

Curator Tour – David LaChapelle: Dear Sonja,
Thursday, April 10, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Go deeper into this expansive exhibition with a special curator tour of Main Gallery, led by Maya Brooks.

Film Screening: RIZE (2005)
Saturday, April 26, 1 p.m.
Directed by David LaChapelle, "RIZE" chronicles a dance movement that rises out of South Central Los Angeles with roots in clowning and street youth culture.

Pop Visions: The Music Videos of David LaChapelle
Thursday, May 8, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Enjoy a special screening of music videos directed by David LaChapelle in the auditorium at NCMA Winston-Salem.