Mats Bäcker

Mats Backer lives and works in Stockholm. He has been a photographer since 1977. He exhibited in France at the Galerie Nathalie Béreau for the first time in 2011.

Born in 1958 in a little village called Hagfors, in western Sweden, he is one of the most famous photographers in Scandinavia. He took photos in collaboration with one of the greatest theaters and operas. This led him to appear on programs, in magazines and exhibits on a daily basis. However, his career began far from theaters and operas.

In the late 70's and 80's, Mats Backer began his career as a photographer behind the rock n roll scenes. He met many famous people. One of his most famous photos were of Iggy Pop in Copenhagen in 1977. He was only 19 years old those days. In 1981, he moved to Stockholm to work for the new rock magazine called Schlager, which changed the vision on rock music. He worked in close collaboration with artists and didn't do the usual star portraits.

Mats Backer was also the photographic editor and a Scandinavian agent for his colleagues: Anton Corbien and Pennie Smith. In 1984, he stepped away from the music world and got enrolled at the Konstfack Art Academy in Stockholm, a university dedicated to art, craft and design. After having finished his studies, he came back to the world of theater and took photos at the Théâtre Dramatique Royal for a few years. In 1995, he became the official photographer of the Swedish Royal Opera and stayed there for about 10 years.

He changed the outlook on dance and opera photography thanks to his new way of proceeding. He used ideas and techniques from the fashion and publicity world to rejuvenate a very traditional culture.

Since then, he has worked with several operas, dance and theater companies in Scandinavia. He is currently the photographer for great classical musicians such as Anne Sofie von Otter, Lang Lang, etc. During all these years, Mats Backer exhibited throughout the world, in cities like Los Angeles, Riga or Beirut. He has also written many books and made short films.

In addition to his work in performing arts, he carried out a number of experiments and put together his own projects. These last few years, his works from the 70's and 80's have been very successful and were sold at auctions.