Mark de Paola is a director and fine art photographer based in New York City.
Working with both still and motion pictures in fashion and beauty, De Paola has shot countless campaigns including Gucci, Brioni, and MAC Cosmetics as well as editorials and covers for various publications including Vogue Spain, Vogue Mexico, and Interview Magazine.
His storytelling has also been translated across a broad range of television work, having directed nearly seven hundred spots including Anheuser-Busch for the Superbowl, Giorgio Perfume (exhibited in MoMA New York and Bergdorf Goodman windows), Donna Karan, Neutrogena, Sephora, Sony, Toyota, Kawasaki, and Ford Motorsports.
De Paola continues to work with select clients around the world. His most recent commercial works are the Art of Backstage worldwide collaboration with Aveda during New York Fashion Week.
His lectures and workshops including “Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition” at the Contemporary Jewish Museum San Francisco, “Leica M Panel” with Ralph Gibson and Leica Camera at Photoville New York City, and “Photography Wide Open” at the Leica Store San Francisco, the Leica Gallery Los Angeles, the Leica Gallery Tokyo, and Photoville NYC.
Most recently, his fine art photographic series, “60 Seconds,” was exhibited at the Leica Gallery San Francisco, the Leica Gallery Los Angeles, the Leica Gallery Boston, and the Leica Gallery Tokyo, and is now touring to select cities including Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, and New York City.
“60 Seconds” delves into a realm of abstract figures, fluidity, and poetic forms, challenging and seducing the limits of motion contained within still image. With each photograph taken handheld with a 60 second exposure, de Paola has discovered the connection between his physiological make up, the Leica M camera as a tool, and time, the unflinching competitor to the timeless image.
Producing and directing multiple upcoming feature films, including Proof Film, as well as producing his own fine art portfolios, de Paola melds the crossroads between both fine art and commercial aesthetic.