Bowie: The Rise of Ziggy Stardust

BOWIE by MICK ROCK is a large-scale multimedia exhibition celebrating the creative partnership between David Bowie and Mick Rock, the photographer whose images helped define the visual identity of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

Combining photography, music, film, video, and archival material, the exhibition immerses visitors in Bowie's extraordinary journey of artistic reinvention, from the emergence of Ziggy Stardust through the many transformations that reshaped popular culture over the following decades.

More than a photographer, Mick Rock was a close collaborator and witness to a pivotal moment in cultural history. His photographs not only documented Bowie's rise but helped create some of the most enduring images in the history of music.

The exhibition made its international debut at the Taschen Gallery in Los Angeles in 2015 alongside the publication of The Rise of David Bowie, 1972–1973. Following its success, the project traveled internationally, with presentations at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Taschen Gallery (Los Angeles and New York), Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and São Paulo, attracting large audiences and introducing Mick Rock's work to new generations of visitors around the world.

Following David Bowie's passing in 2016, the exhibition assumed an even greater cultural significance. What began as a celebration of an artist's creative evolution became a powerful tribute to Bowie's enduring legacy and to the photographer who helped shape how the world remembers him.

Today, BOWIE by MICK ROCK continues to travel internationally as a museum-scale exhibition, honoring the life, vision, and cultural impact of both David Bowie and Mick Rock while preserving one of the most important visual archives in the history of contemporary music.