Francesco Clemente, Joan Jonas, Nate Lowman & More Open The Doors to Their Studios For STUDY Magazine’s Latest Issue

“To people who are not artists, the idea of the artist and the place where they create can be so mysterious,” says Christopher Niquet, the Paris-based stylist, writer, and editor in chief of STUDY magazine. That was the thrust behind the latest issue of STUDY, a quarterly publication that focuses each issue on one single person, place, or theme. For the eleventh volume of the magazine, which officially launched back in 2022, Niquet tapped photographer and W contributor Jeff Henrikson to shoot the studios and workspaces of 11 New York City-based artists, including Joe Bradley, Joan Jonas, Nate Lowman, and Francesco Clemente (the latter’s cover, shown above, is part of a special-edition partnership with Saint Laurent; the exclusive Clemente cover will only be available for sale at Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite stores in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris).

The images depict the artists themselves, but more importantly, they capture the energy of the work being made in their spaces, and offer many previously unseen corners of studios belonging to the likes of R.H. Quaytman and Jessi Reaves. “It was often really run-and-gun: me, showing up alone, with a roller bag and a shoulder bag in many cases,” Henrikson—who has shot editorials featuring Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell Williams, plus ad campaigns for Proenza Schouler—says of the creative process for this issue. But shooting portraiture, Henrikson’s preferred lane, requires engaging in hours of conversation with his subject—something he did for each artist featured in STUDY. “I’m not there to just do the job and leave,” he adds. “I’m trying to get a connection, trying to get something personal.”

The idea for the project came about in 2024, when Henrikson and Niquet met for coffee in New York. “We’ve known each other for years, but just kind of peripherally,” Henrikson says. “I had said, ‘Hey, Christopher, I know each issue of STUDY is different, but if you ever need some portraits done....’ I showed him my general portfolio, and the work I’ve done specifically with fine artists and their studios, and he goes, ‘Okay, well then, why don’t you just do a whole issue of STUDY like that?’”

The organic feel of their partnership permeates the images, which command the eye with a kind of frank emotion. They tell the story without text accompaniment—a conscious decision on the part of Niquet and Henrikson. “We’re not writing an article about their next shows. There’s no biographical information,” Niquet says. “It’s very different from doing, let’s say, a profile on an artist on the eve of a big retrospective where you really pump it up.”

“I think it took a lot of that pressure away—your gallery isn’t saying, You have to do these three interviews for press!’” Henrikson adds. “It became a breath of fresh air.”