Framing the Beat

"Making portraits of people you are in awe of, people like Anthony Burgess and James Brown, Robert Altman, Nina Simone... There was something, like an energy from doing that sort of work."

– David Corio

Elliott Gallery is thrilled to host ‘Framing the Beat’ a retrospective exhibition of Music Photography by David Corio, opening in October 2023.

From Hip-Hop to Punk Rock and from powerful concert shots to intimate portraits, David has captured some of the most influential and iconic musicians of the last forty five years. Public Enemy, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, B.B. King, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, The Cure, Run DMC, Grace Jones… just to name a few! His personal notes of each shoot offer a brilliant and deep insight of his subjects and his experience with them as well.

Initially as a freelance photographer, David started his career in the early days of the Punk Rock movement in London. In those early days, he would go to gigs around the city taking photos, which he would then have to turn around and print for the next morning. Soon enough, his extraordinary talent and skill caught the attention of publications and media, ultimately leading him to work as a commissioned photographer.

His work is featured on more than 500 record sleeves and is published in various magazines and newspapers. NME, The Face, Time Out, Black Echoes, the Daily Telegraph, New York Times, Rolling Stone and Mojo are only some of them. 

“I first started taking photographs probably when I was 5 years old. I remember seeing my granddad printing in a dark room he built under the stairs at his house. He was just doing contact prints, but there was something really exciting about seeing these little 2-inch square prints develop. And that hasn’t left me... The whole getting into a dark room is still something exciting, about seeing a print appear – particularly if it comes out well! That can be really exhilarating!”

– David Corio

About David Corio:

David Corio was born in London, UK, in 1960. He began his professional career in 1978 taking photographs for NME, followed by The Face, Time Out, and Black Echoes, covering a wide range of music and portraiture. After shortly working as a music writer at City Limits, he continued working as a freelance photographer.

David has lived and worked in London and New York City, and his work has been published in various publications. His work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Photographer’s Gallery, The Hayward Gallery, the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) and the Special Photographers Gallery in London; the Brownwyn Keenan Gallery, The Jack Shainman Gallery and Fotografiska in New York; the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam; Number One Gallery in Dublin and in Italy, Japan, Sweden, France, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The exhibition will be on view until 6th of January.

Please, contact us at info@elliott.gallery for press inquiries.