Teller studied at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Photographie in Munich, Germany (1984–1986). In order to avoid military national service he learned English and, at the age of 22, moved to London in 1986.
Life and career
Teller’s work, in books, magazines or exhibitions, is marked by his refusal to separate the commercial fashion pictures and his mostly autobiographical un-commissioned images. He employs a raw, overexposed style and he uses a Contax G2 camera with an onboard flash. He prefers to work in color, and regularly includes himself in his photographs. His fashion photographs have been featured in The Face, Vogue (US, France, England, Italy), Another Magazine, Index, W Magazine, Self Service, Details, Purple, i-D and 032c, among others.
Teller first gained wider recognition in 1996 with his front cover of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine featuring a nude Kristen McMenamy with the word ‘Versace’ drawn in a heart across her chest. In 1997, Marc Jacobs began to collaborate with Teller's then-partner Venetia Scott to style his collections. Since 1998, Teller has shot campaigns for Marc Jacobs. For the brand's 2005 campaign, he photographed himself with Cindy Sherman. Other collaborations for Marc Jacobs campaigns involved Winona Ryder, Sofia Coppola, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Stipe, Rufus Wainwright, Harmony Korine, Roni Horn and others.
Teller has also had long collaborations with other designers and fashion houses including Helmut Lang, Yves Saint Laurent (since 2005), Vivienne Westwood, and Céline. He frequently works with the musician Björk. Teller has also photographed many artists, including William Eggleston and Roni Horn. He photographed American rapper Kanye West for T: The New York Times Style Magazine in 2015.
Teller has also directed several short films including Can I Own Myself (1998) in which he also appears.
In 2014 Teller became Professor of Photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg.
In 2016, Teller curated an exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs at Alison Jacques Gallery in London; he selected 58 images from the Mapplethorpe Foundation collection.
Teller is married to UK contemporary art dealer Sadie Coles.
Juergen Teller. Cologne: Taschen, 1996.Der verborgene Brecht. Ein Berliner Stadtrundgang. Zurich: Scalo, 1998.Go Sees. Zurich: Scalo, 1999.TrachtGöttingen: Steidl/Lehmann Maupin Gallery, 2001.More. Göttingen: Steidl, 2001.Märchenstüberl. Göttingen: Steidl, 2002.Zwei Schäuferle mit Kloß und eine Kinderportion Schnitzel mit Pommes Frites. Göttingen: Steidl, 2003.Nackig auf dem Fußballplatz. Göttingen: Steidl, 2003.Louis XV. Göttingen: Steidl, 2004.Ich bin Vierzig. Göttingen: Steidl, 2004.The Master. Göttingen: Steidl, 2004.Ohne Titel. Göttingen: Steidl, 2005.Nürnberg. Göttingen: Steidl, 2006.Ed in Japan. Paris: Purple publications, 2006.Jürgen Teller, Do You Know What I Mean. Exhibition catalogue. Paris: Foundation Cartier pour l'art contemporain/London-New York: Thames & Hudson, 2006.Juergen Teller Vivienne Westwood, Spring Summer 2008. Göttingen: Steidl, 2008.Election Day, Vivienne Westwood, Spring Summer 2009. Göttingen: Steidl, 2009.Juergen Teller: Marc Jacobs Advertising 1997-2008. Göttingen: Steidl, 2008.The Master II. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010.Zimmermann. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010.The Deste Foundation Collection. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010.Get a Life, Vivienne Westwood Spring Summer 2010. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010.Calves and Thighs. TF Editore, 2010.Touch Me. Les Presses du Reel, 2011.The Keys to the House. Göttingen: Steidl, 2011.Hotel Il Pellicano. Italy: Slim Arons, John Swope, Juergen Teller, Rizzoli 2011.Pictures and Words Göttingen: Steidl, 2012.The Master III Göttingen: Steidl, 2012.Woo! Juergen Teller Steidl and ICA, 2013.Araki Teller, Teller Araki Eyesencia, 2014. With Nobuyoshi Araki.Siegerflieger Göttingen: Steidl, 2015.Last Chance To Try Berlin: The Travel Almanac, 2016.Teller first participated in group shows at art photography museums such as The Photographers' Gallery in London (1999) and the Fotomuseum Winterthur (2000). Shortly after he published his Märchenstüberl series, his work has been exhibited worldwide in solo exhibitions at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art in Paris; Munchner Fotomuseum in Munich; Museum Folkwang in Essen; Galleria d'Arte Moderna in Bologna; Frans Hals Museum in The Netherlands; Inverleith House in Edinburgh and the Kunsthalle Mannheim. Teller's work is included in the group exhibitions, Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now at ICP in New York, Model As Muse at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Click Double Click at the Haus der Kunst in Munich; Street & Studio at the Tate Modern in London; A Poem About an Inland Sea in the Ukrainian Pavilion at the 52nd International Venice Biennale; and Fashioning Fiction at the Museum of Modern Art.
1998 Juergen Teller, Photographers Gallery, London1999 Go-Sees, Pitti Immagine Discovery, Florence, Italy2000 Juergen Teller, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York2001 Märchenstüberl, Modern Art, London2002 Märchenstüberl, Fotomuseum, München, Germany2002 Märchenstüberl, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany2003 Märchenstüberl, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy2003 Märchenstüberl Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands2003 Zwei Schäuferle mit Kloß und eine Kinderportion Schnitzel mit Pommes Frites, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin2003 Don’t suffer too much, Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes, UK2003 Daddy You’re So Cute, Lehmann Maupin, New York2003 Tracht, Kuntsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany2004 Go-sees and World cup final, Germany v Brazil 0-2 Temple Bar Visual Arts, Dublin, Ireland2004 Ich bin Vierzig, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria2004 The Master, Modern Art, London2005 Louis XV, Contemporary Fine Art, Berlin, Germany2006 Nürnberg, Lehmann Maupin, New York2006 Do you know what I mean, Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris2007 Awailable, Inverleith House, Edinburgh, Scotland2008 Ukraine, Lehmann Maupin, New York2008 Nürnberg, Galerist, Istanbul, Turkey2009 Teller, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands2009 Paradis, Lehmann Maupin, New York2009 Logisch, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Germany2010 Touch Me, Le Consortium, Dijon, France2010 Calves and Thighs, Alcala 31, Madrid, Spain2010 Texte und Bilder, Christine König Galerie, Vienna, Austria2011 Paradis, Johann Koenig Gallery, Berlin, Germany2011 Men and Women, O23C Workshop, Berlin, Germany2011 Texte und Bilder, Moscow House of Photography, Russia2011 Touch Me, Daelim Contemporary Art Museum, Seoul, Korea2011 Man with Banana, Dallas Contemporary, USA2011 Texte und Bilder, Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, Romania2012 Juergen Teller, Lehmann Maupin, New York2013 Woo!, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London1996 New Universe, Bienale di Firenze, Italy1996 Jam, Barbican Gallery, London1999 Mayday communities, Photographers Gallery, London2000 Living in the Real World, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Belgium2000 90 x 60 x 90, Museo Jacobo Borges, Caracas, Venezuela2000 Remake Berlin, Fotomuseum, Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland2000 Empresa Fotografica, Programa Centro de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico2001 Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis, Tate Modern, London2003 The Fleeting Moment Between Photograph and Cinema, Fondazione Torino Museum, Italy2004 Il Nudo, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy2004 Fashioning Fiction: Photography since 1990, MOMA, New York2005 Coolhunters, ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany2005 Rundlederwelten, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany2005 The Difference in Temperature between your Body and Mine, Galleria Suzy Shammah, Milan, Italy2006 Click double Click, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany2006 Dark, Museum Boijmans, Rotterdam, Netherlands2006 Sound & Vision, Palazzo della Penna, Perugia, Italy2006 Woman as the object: Female myths and metamorphosis 1900-2005, City Hall of Vigevano. Vigevano, Italy2006 La Force de I’art, Grand Palais, Paris2006 The Beautiful Game: Contemporary Art and Futbol, Roebling Hall, New York2006 Click double Click, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium2006 Vivienne Westwood Shoes 1973–2006, Castello di Vigevano, Vigevano2006 Defamation of Character, PS1 Gallery, New York2006 The Kate Show, The Foam Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands2006 Fashion Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA2007 Allusive Moments, Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, USA2007 Being Beauteous, White Space Gallery, London2007 A Poem about an Inland Sea, Ukrainian Pavilion, Palazzo Papadopoli, Venice Biennale, Italy2008 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London2008 Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography, Tate Modern, London2008 Das Gelände, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Germany2008 Fashion in the Mirror, Photographer’s Gallery, London2009 John Kobal New Work Award, Whitechapel Gallery, London2009 Shake It: An Instant History of the Polaroid, Pump House Gallery, London2009 Shoot, Parco Factory, Tokyo, Japan2010 Ultramegalore, Modemuseum, Hasselt, Belgium2010 Not in Fashion, MMK Museum, Frankfurt, Germany2010 A Star is Born, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany2010 Was ist Schön?, Hygiene Museum, Dresden, Germany2011 The Last Grand Tour, Cycladic Art Museum, Athens, Greece2011 Snap, Art at the Aldeburgh Festival, UK2011 Mash-Up, Hydra School Projects, Hydra, Greece2011 Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George and Juergen Teller, Lehmann Maupin, New York2011 Nothing in the World but Youth, Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK2011 Making it Up As We Go Along: 20 Years of Dazed and Confused magazine, Somerset House, London2011 The Deer, Le Consortium, Dijon, France2012 Duro Olowu: Material, Salon 94, Freemans Alley Gallery, New YorkIn 2003 Teller was awarded the Citibank Prize.
