Seidel City presents Pictures from Russia, No Collusion, featuring work by Christopher Makos, “the most modern photographer in America – Andy Warhol,” and Paul Solberg, described by Sir Elton John as “images [that] evoke bygone eras while remaining fresh and immediate.”

With the emergence of the new world order and the shifting of both political and social norms, one thing that still remains a constant is a person’s need for love. Whomever, wherever one is, the need for home, friendship, and love remains a constant in a world full of turmoil and misunderstanding. Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg are showing photographs from recent trips to Russia, which show the normalcy between cultures regardless of political persuasions.

The Hilton Brothers is an artistic identity that comes out of a series of collaborations Makos and Solberg began while traveling some 15 years ago. Finding that they were both drawn to similar subject matter when they were out in a foreign, beautiful location, they began to shoot the same subjects, almost as a joke.

Back in the studio, looking at the printed results it was fascinating for them to see where their sensibilities merged and diverged. The idea of identity, who took which picture, and why was the difference discernable led them to begin a series of diptychs, where they would photograph separate objects and bring them together in one print: one plus one equals a third new artwork.

This summer in Ukraine for the first time the works of world famous photographer Christopher Makos are presented. During a short visit to the beloved photographer Andy Warhol and his colleague on Hilton Brothers Paul Solberg, JS invited the participants of the creative duo to take part in his own art shoot

Open in Google Chrome for translation

The Hilton Brothers, comprised of Christopher Makos (a long-term photographic cohort of Andy Warhol) and Paul Solberg (known for his floral and human portraits), are a photography duo whose works of diptychs and quadriptychs, portrayed both single and together, have taken them around the world. The second week of January, Makos and Solberg presented their artistic career and signed their book Tyrants + Lederhosen (2012) in three different locations in the Valley. They first spoke at the Hermosa Inn as guest of the resort’s Conversations in Fashion series. The duo was then hosted by the Arizona Costume Institute and made a lively presentation for the organization’s Second Wednesday series at Phoenix Art Museum. For their final stop, the Hilton Brothers made an appearance at the Gebert Contemporary Art Gallery in Old Town Scottsdale, where 16 of their photographs are currently available for purchase.

WE THE PEOPLE
is the most recent collaboration
of Christopher Makos and Paul
Solberg. These works explore
the cultural dynamics of the
relationship between America
and China, the emerging great
powers of the 21st century.
Globalization, instant communications
and social networking
has brought East and
West, old and new together
in ways that have irrevocably
changed both America
and China.

For the first time presents a pictorial dimension to SWEDEN that has been introduced to so many readers of Stieg Larsson's luminous novels, and one that they have longed to know better. Stirring photography by internationally renowned photographers Paul Solberg and Christopher Makos, provide an ambience of the entirety of this beautiful, intriguing and widely unexplored country, not recently documented in book form.

Created with the collaboration and support of VisitSweden, the Swedish tourist board, compelling images created exclusively for this book by two photographers widely acknowledged as the best in their field along with definitive explanations of the sites and their histories by one of Sweden's foremost travel guides combine to create an important document in addition to a compelling read and visual tour de force.

Click here: The Clic

Click here: CNN Travel

Click here: Out Magazine

Click here: Tattoos Hornets Fire: Huffington Post

Click here: Complex Magazine

Click here: The Examiner

Click here: FrontiersLA

Click here: Get Addicted To

Click here: Pin Stockholm on Facebook

Click here to purchase the book

Click here to sample the book

The Hilton Brothers are the photographers Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg. Their moniker is derived from the Hilton Sisters, the 1930s Siamese-twin vaudeville stars--and of course from the hotel heiress Hilton sisters of today. Makos is already famed as a portraitist of many of the twentieth century's leading icons, particularly Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, John Lennon and Man Ray; Solberg is a rising talent who made his name with The Bloom Book, his 2005 collection of flower photographs. Makos and Solberg's first collaborative monograph as the Hilton Brothers takes the form of a travelogue compiling works made by the duo from 2004 to 2011. Tyrants and Lederhosen opens with separate sequences by each of the photographers, which preface their globe-trotting anthropological collaboration as they document and narrate their travels from America to Europe to the Middle East and Asia.

W Magazine Click here:

WWD Click here:

INTERVIEW MAGAZINE Germany Click here:

AnOther Magazine Click here:

This work features the catalog of the exhibition 'Mistaken Identity' by The Hilton Brothers (Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg). The Hilton Brothers artistic duo emerged as a result of a series of collaborations between the two artists. While travelling a few years ago, they realised that they were interested in the same themes and, as something of a joke, decided to photograph the same things. The idea of identity - who took which photo and why was the difference discernible - led them to begin a series of diptychs in which they would photograph two objects separately but then put them together in the same print. This marked the beginning of their exploration of other collaborative projects. The Hilton's photographs reveal a naive perspective diffused by a certain contemporary cynicism. Captured on their travels around the world, their images are the outcome of subdivisions and reconstructions in which the different locations of places are merely panels of aesthetic snippets combined to produce works which form an intrinsic part of their philosophy of life, taste and American culture.

PUPPIES BEHIND BARS: PHOTOGRAPHS is a distinctive showcase and witness to the amazing feats of man and dog when working together-as seen through the lenses of two world-class photographers given unique access to environments usually closed to the pubic eye. Encountering one of the trained puppies on its way to its final destination in a first-class airline cabin, renowned photo portraitist and chronologer Christopher Makos was mesmerized; he knew that this was not a usual dog.

Together with his working partner, Paul Solberg, these imaginative and accomplished photographers visually profile for the first time the extraordinary lives of the dogs from their initial meeting with their inmate trainers through the process of being trained, weekend visits with volunteers, and finally to their completion of the program and placements with needy individuals or organizations. Through artworks mean to appeal not only to dog lovers, but to anyone who cares about the grand purpose behind this amazing nonprofit, PUPPIES BEHIND BARS is commanding testimony

With more than 150 original full-color photographs accompanied by an authoritative text by founder Gloria Gilbert Stoga, that describes the beginnings of he nonprofit as well as words from various participants in the program, this book is a must-have for anyone who loves dogs, photography, or witnessing the generosity of the human spirit in action

From the Back Cover
"I love Puppies Behind Bars because it's a win-win situation. You have prisoners interacting with a living creature that loves them. They learn focus, responsibility, and self-esteem, and once a prisoner is released, they have a new beginning--a skill--with which to get a fresh start."
-Doris Roberts, Actor, "Everybody Loves Raymond"

"It's a paw-fect partnership. Wet-nosed pups are turning hardened criminals at top-security New York prisons into wet-eyed softies."
-New York Post

"The most modern photographer in America. I wish I could take pictures like that."
-Andy Warhol on Christopher Makos

"I am always looking for breakthrough and talented photographers--someone who has something 'new' to say..."
-Ralph Pucci about Paul Solberg

ARTMOCO The Modern & Contemporary Art Blog

We don't usually go in for cute, cuddly AND furry, but this book by Paul Solberg and Christopher Makos is full of heartwarming images of dogs that make a difference. Puppies Behind Bars: Training Puppies to Change Lives is a photographic look at an eighteen-week training program where eight-week-old puppies are placed with prison inmates who care for them. Once the training is complete, the puppies go on to work as service dogs in individual settings or government placements. It is definitely a feel-good program, but the pictures go further in opening our eyes to the power of the bond between man and dog.

Hardcover, 144 pages. Glitterati, 2007. $31.50 at Amazon.

Well Paired, The Hilton Brothers Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg talk with LP about their upcoming body of work inspired by their travels in China.

Some people stand out in a room. The Hilton Brothers command it. When I first met the artistic duo in Shanghai, their matching retro checkered suits pierced through a room of monotone black and white worn by an audience gathered to see them. They stood out. They were in town to promote their exhibition and book Warhol in China by Makos , a collection of photographs by Christopher Makos –one half of the Hilton Brothers – dating back to a trip in 1986 when the budding photographer accompanied Andy Warhol to China. The talk was lucid, witty and full of Makos’ fantastical tales of celebrity and all that comes with the glitz and glam of holding a lens inside Warhol’s “Factory”.

Thanks to Rupert Hoogewerf, the Hilton Brothers were featured in his beautiful magazine, along with Wan Jie the president of Artron printing in Beijing, who owns a set from the HIPPOFOLIUM series

Captured by the Huffington Post, photographed for WWD, quoted in Moscow's Interview magazine and talked up in OUT, The Hilton Brothers are, as they say, a phenom. What began as a casual collaboration between two prolific photographers became a Manhattan studio jammed with works in progress of every variety. And while their work as individuals is remarkable, when Christopher Makos, (circle A) and Paul Solberg, (circle B) link up, the overlap, (subset C) is amazing.

Art Talks

The Hilton Brothers

Whether its a good pizza, or just a delicious Gelato, there is nothing like a good read in Italian, so go brush up on your Italian, and sit yourself down with our recent discussion with Marie Claire. And if that´s not enough, just go check out these hot links:

We arrived at our 6^th hotel room after a day of traveling from the ancient city of Hoi An, on a quick stop over in Ho Chi Minh City before heading back to the west. With nearly a month of traveling the Far East behind us, we stumbled to this interview listless, but full of excitement about our Vietnamese experience.

Often for the American we hear "Vietnam" and we think "war".
When we left this country after a few weeks, the only word that came to mind was "Peace".

The people are beautiful. Quiet, elegant, forgiving. All you see is big smiles everywhere. They quietly remind the westerner that money is not required to be elegant and sophisticated

We answered the door of our hotel room in Shanghai and in came a lightening bolt of energy from this lively litter of very fashionable Chinese youth. Racks of clothes were rolled in, the music got louder, glass started breaking.

Somewhere in the interview we must have had some conversation, although we were too busy sharing some silly.

We wish we could read the text of the article. We must learn Chinese, other than Hello and You're Cute

HERE ARE THE HILTON BROTHERS!

Camera-friendly canines, Andy Warhol, horses, flowers and Paris Hilton all play a part in the world of the Hilton Brothers. The real-life freakiness of a numbed-downed culture is reassembled in the often-hilarious eyes of an alter ego that gives a warm welcome to the art of gimmickry.

Text by Walter Bettens

Rose c'est la vie

'An average day is usually centred around food. We have an unwritten food manifesto, similar to the Italian futurists in the 1930s, who believed food was an avant-garde activity, not merely sustenance. In an average day, the topic of garlic and white pepper is discussed frequently. Maybe new ways to think about fennel or a really firm noodle, beyond "al dente". We just discovered an Indian grocery store in New York called Kalustyan's. We're not elaborate cooks, but these museums of food are where we like to hang out and look at pretty colours and talk to people. It's the new disco,' says 'Chris and Paul Hilton'.

This unfiltered statement comes out of the mouth of the Hilton Brothers - the art alter ego of Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg - dwelling on the theme of an ideal day in the life of. Not unusual for an art brotherhood baptised four years ago over a 'gambas al ajillo' - the Spanish breathtaking shrimp with garlic sizzler - not far from an egg-smelling volcanic black rock on the island of Lanzarote. So far for the olfactory element. The origin of their name derives from the 1930s freak-show performing Siamese twins, Violet and Daisy Hilton, while at the same time referring to the modern day sideshow - hotel heiress's Hilton Sisters - as a comment on contemporary American culture going upside down. Among their trashy sisters are Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and George Bush. As they say 'they're all a part of the numbing of current 'culture'. We're simply compelled to put a mirror up to the faces of a few of these icons.'

When appearing together as the Hilton Brothers both men act in the 'we' form, like to dress up like twins do, wearing identical Vegas shirts, cowboy ties or funky hats. 'The world is one big museum to us. We certainly appreciate the art of the gimmick, where our dressing-up tendencies occur, with or without a show.' In that sense they are reminiscent to 'twin brothers' Gilbert & George. As they continue: 'we're curious about "identity", the search for identity, the lack of identity, like Cindy Sherman or Pierre et Gilles.' Both personalities were involved in art and photography for a while before taking up this new joint identity. Makos has been a seminal figure in New York's contemporary art scene since his Warhol days, while Solberg operated in the film industry with the independent film Double Parked, where he acted as cowriter/co-producer, but also staged a little cameo role as a wig salesman.

It's a good bridge to the Andy Dandy portfolio, where both brothers present 20 diptychs twinning Makos' 1981 Warhol portraits - wearing wigs and make-up - with Solberg's flower images from his Bloom project. As Makos explains the original context: 'Andy and I wanted to work together, similar to what Paul and I are doing now, although not just playing with identity in a personal, but in a more abstract way. We thought of what we might do that had some historical context, with reference to the 1920s collaboration between ManRay [Makos was an apprentice to the master in the Seventies] and Duchamp in Rrose Sélavy as our provenance for this series.'

For the Hiltons, the first magical spark of working together on a mutual project occurred in the studio in 2005 at the time when Makos was producing his horse book named Equipose and Solberg was shooting his flowers for the Bloom project. As the Hiltons say: 'we were proofing the images for both publications, and the combination appeared. We had little to do with it. We had just the two subjects on the studio floor and put them together.' Hippofolium was born, and from these horse-flower combinations, they shifted to the Warhol-flower diptych, another project called the Andy Dandy. Warhol's 'wig' pictures, half of the diptych, had already been shown and gone worldwide in 1982 under the codename Altered Image, but recently tuned to Solberg's flowers as an homage to the pop icon. Like Duchamp's feminine persona, the Andy Dandy combines sexual ambivalence, further feminised by the image of a flower as a kind of ready-made. Although the Andy Dandy in a way is a project with recycled elements - Warhol and the flowers - both images create a most magical and poetical dialogue between Makos' and Solberg's work. Rose c'est la vie. #

The Andy Dandy was shown at Art Basel Miami Beach 07 in the Kartell flagship store, and during Madrid's Arco 08 at Galeria Moriarty. The Hilton Brothers 'solo' show takes place later this year at La Casa Encendida, Madrid, www. lacasaencendida.es

www.thehiltonbrothers.com