Mikael Jansson is a Swedish fashion & portrait photographer.
Mikael Jansson is a Swedish fashion and portrait photographer known for his editorial work in leading international magazines and for campaigns created for major fashion, luxury, and beauty brands. Active since the late 1970s, Jansson has produced photography that has been widely published and exhibited internationally.
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Early life and education
Jansson was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He became interested in photography as a teenager in the late 1970s, when he began photographing touring musicians in the city. During this time he assisted photographer Carl Johann Ronn, an experience that introduced him to the technical and historical foundations of the medium.
Career
In the mid-1980s Jansson moved to New York City to work in the studio of photographer Richard Avedon. He assisted Avedon for two years, including work in the darkroom for the exhibition In the American West (1985). Avedon's influence can be seen in Jansson's emphasis on clarity, character, and the decisive moment.
Jansson attracted international attention in 1998 with an eighty-two-page portfolio published in Dutch magazine, consisting of nude portraits accompanied by fashion credits in a format referencing Andy Warhol. Since the 1990s his editorial photography has appeared in publications including Vogue, Interview, Vogue Paris, Vogue Italia, British Vogue, Arena Homme+, L’Uomo Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Visionaire, W, AnOther Magazine, Love, Dazed & Confused, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and WSJ Magazine.
Jansson has created advertising campaigns for numerous fashion, luxury, and beauty brands such as Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Chloé, Ermenegildo Zegna, Dsquared2, H&M, Coach, Tod’s, Salvatore Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., Rolex, Longchamp, Estée Lauder, Shiseido, Lancôme, Guerlain, and Revlon. He has also photographed campaigns for fragrance lines by Salvatore Ferragamo, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Jil Sander, Burberry, Donna Karan, and Calvin Klein.
In addition to his fashion work, Jansson is known for portraiture that emphasizes directness and presence. His series of portraits of Iggy Pop is among his best-known work in this genre.
Legacy
Over a career spanning more than four decades, Jansson has established a visual style characterized by precise composition and an interest in capturing subjects with both intimacy and restraint. His work continues to influence contemporary fashion and portrait photography.
Publications and exhibitions
Jansson has authored several photography books and has exhibited his work internationally. His exhibitions at CFHILL in Stockholm, including Speed of Life and Daria: The Archipelago Series, have showcased both his fashion and portrait practice.
Books
2018 – Witnesses
2016 – PA&Co – Ännu en kokbok (Stockholm New Publishing)
2013 – Stockholm New (Stockholm New Publishing)
2012 – Contemporary Swedish Photography (Art and Theory Publishing)
2011 – Le Boucher (Gun Gallery)
2011 – Iggy Pop (Gun Gallery)
2007 – Speed of Life (Steidl)
2006 – PA&Co – Mer än en kokbok (Stockholm New Publishing)
1999 – Mikael Jansson (Beaufort Press)
Selected exhibitions
2020s
2022 – Iggy Pop, CFHILL, Stockholm
2021 – Italophilia, CFHILL Art Space, Stockholm
2020 – Unscripted Scenes, CFHILL, Stockholm
2010s
2018 – Daria: The Archipelago Series, CFHILL, Stockholm
2018 – Witnesses, Kulturhuset, Stockholm
2013 – Boychild, Unseen, Amsterdam
2013 – Dum Dum Boys, The Ravestijn Gallery, Amsterdam
2013 – Stockholm New – National Romanticism from the Double Turn of the Centuries: Contemporary Fashion Photography Meets Classic Masterpiece Painting, Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm
2011 – Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris
2011 – Dum Dum Boys, Gun Gallery, Stockholm
2011 – Le Boucher, Hardorff's Hus, Copenhagen
2010 – Fashion! – Modefotografi genom tiderna, Fotografiska, Stockholm
2009 – Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
2009 – Le Boucher, Sturehof, Stockholm
2007 – Speed of Life, Kulturhuset, Stockholm
2004 – Art Fair, Galleri Christian Larsen (Konstmässan), Stockholm
2004 – Fashioning Fiction in Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
2003 – Chic Clicks: Creativity and Commerce in Contemporary Fashion Photography, Fashion Museum, Kobe
2002 – Chic Clicks: Creativity and Commerce in Contemporary Fashion Photography, Centre National de la Photographie, Paris
1990s
1999 – Contemporary Swedish Cultural Manifestation, Zokei University, Tokyo
1998 – Fashion Photography – 100 of the World’s Most Renowned Photographers: Exhibition of Contemporary Fashion Photography, Nagoya and Tokyo
1998 – YSL – 40 Years of Creation, Spiral Garden, Tokyo; New York
1995 – The Generations of Swedish Photography, The New Gallery, Miami
1995 – The Generations of Swedish Photography, Parsons School of Design, New York
1995 – The Generations of Swedish Photography, The Forum Gallery, Jamestown
1995 – The Generations of Swedish Photography, The Swedish Embassy, Washington, D.C.
1995 – The Generations of Swedish Photography, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle
1994 – Mode et Portraits, Espace Image – Scène Nationale, Bayonne
1994 – Mode et Portraits, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago
1994 – Mode et Portraits, Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, Montevideo
1994 – Mode et Portraits, Musée Révolutionnaire, Beijing
1993 – Catwalk, Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm
1992 – International Festival of Fashion Photography, Monaco