Søren Solkær (born 3 September 1969 and formerly known as Søren Solkær Starbird), is a Danish photographer best known for his portraits of musicians. He is most recognised as the man responsible for various iconic images of

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

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, Franz Ferdinand,

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

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and U2.

Early life

He was born in

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Århus University, then later a B.A. in Photography at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in the Czech Republic. He established a studio in Copenhagen in 1996. When he married in 2001 took the surname Starbird from his American wife. After the marriage ended, Søren reverted to his birth name Søren Solkær.

Career

In the beginning of his artistic career, Søren teamed up with Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes on various projects, with Sune at one point accompanying him as his assistant on shoots. Søren was responsible for the strong visual tone of The Raveonettes from the early stages of their career, and he also made his music video directorial debut with "Beat City" – the second single released from The Raveonettes' '' Whip It On'' (2002) album. His collaboration with the band during the 1990s and 2000s marked his entry into the Danish music scene as a photographer of musicians. Concurrent to his work with musicians, Solkær furthered his specialisation in portraits by undertaking an eight-year project. ''Photographers Posed'' comprised 45 photographers from 15 countries, including Arnold Newman, Duane Michals,

Pierre et Gilles Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

, Jan Saudek and Jeanloup Sieff. The collection featured Solkær's portrayals of the style associated with each of his subjects and was exhibited in galleries in Chicago, Copenhagen,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Prague and

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

. Solkær was contributing photographer for ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'', ''

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'' and '' GQ''. As a result, he toured with Franz Ferdinand in Russia,

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

in Portugal and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

, David Lynch and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

. In addition, he has taken pictures for '' EKKO'', '' Gaffa'' and '' Soundvenue''. He has been commissioned by Universal,

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and EMI to photograph individual artists and groups, including Metallica, The White Stripes,

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

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, Tom Jones,

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

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and

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. In addition to his work with celebrities, between 1999 and 2009, Solkær photographed thousands of practitioners of

Raja yoga Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The title has a long ...

meditation in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India. In 2009 he portrayed a large delegation of spiritual leaders at the UN Cop 15 Summit in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. At

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

in 2009 he built a studio in a shipping container and for 6 days, took photos of festivalgoers.

Works

Solkær has released five photography books. ''Beat City'' (2006) documents his earlier work with musicians juxtaposed with cinematic city scapes from across the world whilst his followup, ''CLOSER'' (2011), is a hard-cover coffee table book containing 238 pages of portraits of musicians. In late 2011, Solkær released his third book, ''Souls''. Souls features portraits of meditating yogis taken on the top of Mount Abu,

, India – the result of Solkær's seven journeys to the region. The project has been exhibited in New York, Oxford, Copenhagen, Milan, Naples,

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. Solkær's fourth book, SURFACE, with portraits of street artists and graffiti writers, was released by Gingko Press in 2015. His fifth book, Portraits 1993-2018 was released in 2018. The CLOSER exhibition in Øksnehallen, Copenhagen was noteworthy for its scale – occupying over 24,000 square feet of exhibition space and featuring 327 images in formats up to 3x4.5 meters. The exhibition was largely praised by the Danish media and received a 'six out of six' rating from ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'' and was subsequently nominated for best Cultural Event 2009 by '' AOK''. Notably, Solkær's images are featured in the cover art for Franz Ferdinand's 2009 album '' Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'' as well as Stereophonics' seventh studio album '' Keep Calm and Carry On''. Solkær's works are also featured as part of the permanent collection in the

Royal Danish Library Royal Danish Library () is a merger of the two previous national libraries in Denmark: the State and University Library in Aarhus and the Royal Library in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, wit ...

and The National Portrait Collection in

Frederiksborg Castle Frederiksborg Castle () is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for Christian IV of Denmark, King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...

, Denmark.

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2019: BLACK SUN, Minä Perhonen Galleria, Kyoto Japan * 2018: SURFACE, Museum of Urban Contemporary Art, Munich * 2018: BLACK SUN, Sage Gallery, Los Angeles * 2018: 25 year portrait retrospective, The National Portrait Gallery, Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark * 2017: SURFACE, UTZON CENTER, Aalborg, Denmark * 2017: CLOSER, Martin Asbæk Gallery * 2016: SURFACE, Vroom&Varossieau Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland * 2015: SURFACE, Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2015: SURFACE, The Burrard Arts Center, Vancouver, Canada * 2015: SURFACE, Allouche Gallery, New York, USA * 2015: SURFACE, Art Equity, Sydney, Australia * 2015: SURFACE, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA * 2015: SURFACE, NKN Gallery, Melbourne, Australia * 2015: SURFACE, Art Equity, Sydney, Australia * 2014: Face to Face, Kistefos Museum, Norway * 2013: Face to Face, Trapholt Museum, Kolding, Denmark * 2012: CLOSER. Art Equity, Sydney, Australia * 2012: CLOSER. The Danish Cultural Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland * 2011: CLOSER. Halvandet, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2011: CLOSER. Gibson Gallery, London, U.K. * 2010: CLOSER. Spazio Lattuada, Milan, Italy * 2009: CLOSER. Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2008: Souls. Mazzotta Art Selection/eg22, Milan, Italy * 2007: Souls. Inner Space, Oxford, England * 2006: Beat City. Horsens Kunstmuseum, Denmark * 2006: Beat City. Århus Kunstbygning, Denmark * 2005: Beat City. Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2005: Souls. Reykjavík Town Hall Gallery, Iceland * 2004: Souls. Month of Photography, Bratislava, Slovakia. * 2004: Souls. Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark * 2004: Metropol. Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark. * 2003: Third Eye. IN CAMERA Gallery, Chelsea, New York * 1998: Photographers Posed. Schneider Gallery, Chicago, USA * 1998: Photographers Posed. Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense, Denmark * 1997: Photographers Posed. Fotokina, Cologne, Germany * 1996: Photographers Posed. Frederiks Bastion, Copenhagen, Denmark * 1995: Photographers Posed. Galleri Radost FX, Prague, Czech Republic

Inspirations and style

Solkær's photography is characterised by finding a tension point between intimacy and edginess. His portraits are often regarded as cinematic in tone with a distinctive colour palette. He cites the inspirations for his style as ranging from filmmakers David Lynch and

Wong Kar-Wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure o ...

through to the works of photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia and painter

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...

Critical reception

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...

commented that "Søren has a great understanding of light, and a rare eye for beauty and portraiture," while Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand said that "working with Søren, nothing feels invasive or exploitative. You trust him and you forget about his lens. It becomes invisible. It makes him the photographer he is - not just how he responds to his light meter, sets his aperture or chooses a composition, but how he can capture what makes us the humans we are." Ricky Wilson of

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

once jokingly remarked "anyone who can keep five uninterested grown men in coats from Leeds in his view-finder for more than five seconds, must be some kind of a genius."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solkaer, Soren Starbird 20th-century Danish photographers 21st-century Danish photographers Danish photographers 1969 births Living people Aarhus University alumni People from Sønderborg Municipality Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni