TINA BERNING (Germany, 1969) & MICHELANGELO DI BATTISTA (Italy). "Valerie" 2016. Acrylic and charcoal on Ditone print. Unique piece. Signed, dated and titled on the back. Measurements: 81 x 160 cm; 89 x 169,5 cm (frame). Tina Berning is an artist and illustrator based in Berlin. After working as a graphic designer for several years, Tina Berning focused on drawing and illustration in 2000. Since then, her award-winning illustrations are published worldwide and appear in many renowned anthologies. Tina Berning's illustrations have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Playboy (USA and Germany), Vogue (Italy, Nippon, Germany), Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Architectural Digest. Her early passion for editorial illustration led her to an intense contemplation of the human figure. Reflecting the female role in the media is one of the central themes of her artistic work. Her work as a fine artist is regularly shown in solo exhibitions in the United States, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Canada. Italian Michelangelo Di Battista completed his formal art education in Milan, after which he decided to go to New York and enrolled at the prestigious School of Visual Arts, where he trained in photography and imaging. This seemed the natural choice for him, who cites his mother, a painter, as a major influence who, along with his father, an architect, encouraged and inspired him to pursue a career in the world of fashion and art. It has been 20 years since he began his career in the fashion world, Michelangelo Di Battista lives in London and travels the world for his numerous fashion and advertising commissions. Michelangelo Di Battista's dedication and passion for his craft has attracted some of the most prestigious names in the fashion and beauty industry, including Versace, Etro, Blumarine, Moschino, Guerlain, Shiseido, Maybelline, Clarins, L'Oreal, Prescriptives, Aveda, Givenchy, Nina Ricci, Lacoste, Tod's and Hugo Boss, to name but a few. She has collaborated with some of the most important publications in the world, such as Vogue Italia, Vogue Germany, Vogue Japan, Vogue China and Harpers Bazaar. Hollywood actresses and performers such as Natalie Portman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlet Johansson, Hilary Swank, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Kristen Stewart, Beyonce, Rhianna and Gwen Stefani love to be photographed by Michelangelo Di Battista, as he makes women look seductive and mysterious and captures a moment of tranquility in each of them, making them look radiant. Michelangelo Di Battista had a major solo exhibition at the world-renowned Camera Work Gallery in Berlin in 2010, in collaboration with artist Tina Berning. Michelangelo Di Battista's portraits of women (including supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Amber Valetta and Julia Stegner), along with Tina Berning's applications, blurred the boundaries between fashion photography, drawing and painting.