Gallery: Major Anton Corbijn retrospective opens at Fotografiska Tallinn
This winter, Fotografiska Tallinn turns its focus to music with a major retrospective by legendary photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn.
On Saturday, January´24, Fotografiska Tallinn opened a major retrospective of works by the Dutch-born artist, whose vision has shaped the visual language of international music culture for over half a century.
The large-scale retrospective "Corbijn, Anton" travels through five creative decades and also marks Corbijn's 70th birthday.
His distinctive visual style has captured an extraordinary range of influential musicians – timeless portraits, album covers and band imagery that have shaped how artists and music are seen worldwide. In addition to photography, Corbijn has worked extensively with music videos and feature films, expanding his visual language into moving image and narrative.
Featuring more than 150 works, the retrospective includes portraits of music legends including Bono, Nirvana, Coldplay, Nick Cave, Prince, Annie Lennox, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Lenny Kravitz and Slash. The selection also includes iconic figures from film – like Clint Eastwood, Cameron Diaz and Willem Dafoe – as well as recognizable names from fashion, politics and contemporary culture such as Kate Moss, Nelson Mandela and Ai Weiwei.
The exhibition additionally features a large immersive music room offering a powerful 360-degree experience of Corbijn's videography – music videos that have shaped and inspired generations.
"This thematically structured retrospective offers an excellent overview of Corbijn's artistic evolution," says Fotografiska Tallinn's Head of Exhibitions Maarja Loorents.
"Rather than following a strict chronology, the exhibition brings together works created over the past 50 years – many of them personal favorites of the artist himself."
To mark the opening, Corbijn himself was also in Tallinn for the exhibition's opening event on Friday, January 23, and a live recording of the "Muusikanõunikud" podcast on Saturday, January 24.
Latvian band Brainstorm, whose long-standing collaboration with Corbijn is reflected in a portrait specially included in the Fotografiska Tallinn exhibition will also appeared at a live recording of the Fotografiska podcast on Thursday, January 22, in conversation with Ingrid Kohtla, head of communications for Tallinn Music Week and Station Narva.
The exhibition is accompanied by a public program that places Corbijn's work in dialogue with local artists, musicians and cultural figures.
"The breadth and diversity of Corbijn's work allow us to explore the dialogue between music and image from many angles," says Fotografiska Tallinn's Executive Director Margit Aasmäe.
Over the course of three months, the exhibition is accompanied by the Corbijn Sessions public program, bringing together photography, film, talks, and special concerts. Additional events will take place as part of the major spring music festivals Tallinn Music Week and Jazzkaar.
"Corbijn, Anton" is on view at Fotografiska Tallinn from January 24 until April 30, 2026.
More information is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole
