"Cool Blue" by Noted Fashion Photographer Steven Klein is Selected as Image for 2007 Hampton Classic Official Poster

A black and white image by renowned fashion photographer Steven Klein (who has photographed such iconic celebrities as Madonna, Brat Pitt, Beyonce, Hilary Swank, Usher, Pharrell, the Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake and Victoria & David Beckham) has been selected as the image for the 2007 Hampton Classic Horse Show poster.

The 32nd Hampton Classic Horse Show, one of the nation's premier show jumping competitions, returns to Bridgehampton August 26-September 2. The Classic hosts exciting hunter/jumper competition from junior levels up to the pinnacle of the sport, grand prix show jumping, featuring the $150,000 FTI Grand Prix.

Klein's black and white image "Cool Blue" is only the second time the Hampton Classic has used a photograph for its poster image in more than 30 years. In keeping with his reputation as being both daring and non-traditional, Klein chooses to focus only the horse's sleekly braided neck as opposed to capturing the entire body of the animal.

Klein is best known for his celebrity portraiture that transforms his viewer's understanding of his famed subjects. Klein has many famous museum and gallery solo exhibitions to his name - most notably with "X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS," a video installation/collaboration with Madonna, first shown in 2003 at Deitch Projects in New York City (it has since traveled around the world to Sao Paulo, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Moscow, Tokyo, and this November the Art Sonje Museum in Seoul, Korea).

His exhibition "Case Study #13," a 2005 collaboration with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was first shown at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA. It was also shown in Berlin and is due to show in Tokyo in early 2008. He has transformed magazines into virtual gallery spaces, radically re-imagining the role of fashion and celebrity photography in the public sphere. His images have been published in American Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, W, and Arena Hommes.

Klein trained as a painter at the Rhode Island School of Design, and began his photography career in Paris with a commission from Dior. He has since worked with Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, and Dolce & Gabbana. He resides and works in New York City.

The 2007 Hampton Classic poster is available online at www.hamptonclassic.com or on site in the Boutique Garden at the horse show. It can also be purchased at various art galleries on the East End including Giraffics, Hampton Photo Arts, Harrison Frame Shop, Mark Humphrey's, and the Southampton Hospital Thrift Shop. From August 25 through September 18, The Vered Gallery located at 68 Park Place in East Hampton will be featuring an exhibition by Klein entitled Horses. For more information, please visit the www.veredart.com.

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