Greatest Hits: Grunge

LA based Photographer, Director, Producer, Chris Cuffaro announces his second exhibition in Australia at the Blender Gallery in Paddington (NSW) as part of the Head On Photo Festival.

You may not instantly recognise Cuffaro's name but his photos helped define music history. For the past 40 years Chris Cuffaro has taken iconic photos of some of the best-known musicians in the world. From George Michael to George Harrison, Kurt Cobain, Gwen Stefani, Michael Hutchence and more. Cuffaro has amassed an enviable collection of subjects – including an amazing streak in the early 1990s when his love of music and photography collided to help launch him and some of his grunge rocker friends from Seattle onto the world stage.

His latest exhibition unleashes a powerful posse of photos entitled GREATEST HITS: GRUNGE and features iconic artists including Nirvana, Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.

Falling in love with Seattle and already a big fan of Sub Pop Records, he met Nirvana manager (John Silva) who offered Cuffaro the opportunity of a band photoshoot with their new drummer named Dave. The rest is history! The Nirvana photos were used for global publicity, Rolling Stone Magazine covers, artwork and much more. Many of his other photos cemented his reputation as the photographer who captured some of the greatest music legends and culture of our time, regularly appearing in Rolling Stone, Spin, RayGun, Vibe, Musician and on more than 300 albums and CDs as part of the artwork.

From May 2 (Opening night) to June 1st the GREATEST HITS: GRUNGE exhibition will showcase 59 candid photos (including some intimate proof sheets) for music and photography fans to experience the connection between music and lens. Says Cuffaro: "Greatest Hits is a celebration of my two biggest passions, music and photography. When I think of Grunge, I think of best friends, great music, The Rocket newspaper, wet weather, Sub Pop Records, great photo shoots and most of all the amazing moments that I witnessed and shot. Coming from Los Angeles, I was an outsider to most, but everyone welcomed me and treated me like I belonged. This was a big deal for me at the time - most of these bands were my favorite bands and musical heroes."

Adds Tali Udovich, Owner at Blender Galley: "Chris Cuffaro's photographs are a visual history of one of the most important movements in modern music. Blender Gallery is very excited to present this collection for the first time in Australia."

His previous Australian show was the sold out Greatest Hits: George Michael exhibition. Greatest Hits: Grunge continues to build towards an exciting Greatest Hits exhibition later year. Watch this space!

The Greatest Hits: Grunge exhibition will be open to the public from May 3 to June 1, 2019 with all works available for purchase.