The psychological tension between how we present ourselves publicly and who we are in private is the core thesis of Greg Friedler’s prolific “Naked” series. Friedler defined “Naked” as portraiture of naked people rather than nudes, “Nudes are generally perceived as objects, whereas my “Naked” collaborators are subjects, expressing their own deeper truths”. It’s hard to get past performances of identity - Friedler believed that with their armor down, the “Naked” are at their most honest and compelling, and that the dialog between external and internal personae makes for fascinating art.

“Remember way back, when Phillippe Halsman did those incredible “jumping” portraits, where he got the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Marilyn Monroe and everyone else important and unexpected to jump before his lens? Remember how different from their intended persona looked in mid-air? The achingly gifted Greg Friedler has accomplished something similar with the clothed/unclothed portraits of his “Naked” series. You’ll want to look at and love these pairs of portraits over and over again,” Jordan Schaps, New York Magazine

“Naked” portfolios in London, Los Angeles and New York were shot large format on black and white film, and Las Vegas was shot digitally in color. Naked London, Naked Los Angeles, Naked New York and Naked Las Vegas were published by W.W. Norton, and the series has been the subject of two feature length documentaries, Naked London and Stripped: Greg Friedler’s Naked Las Vegas.

For information on purchasing “Naked” books, click here.