Valerie's biggest influences remain the things she loved as a kid outer space, gymnastics, skateboarding and the paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
She grew up in pre-disneyfied New York City, cut school to compete with her skateboard team, snuck into clubs to see bands, and eventually left for London to take pictures.
Her work has appeared on numerous cd sleeves including PJ Harvey, Manic Street Preachers, Amy Winehouse, Amy Macdonald and Tracey Thorn. Her commercial clients include Nike, Doc Martens, Billabong, Puma, Reebok, Paul Smith, Virgin Atlantic, PF Flyers, Urban Outfitters, Goodyear, JC Penney, Sony Playstation, PC World, New Look, Selfridges.
Valerie has published six books so far. Each documenting the life of a different girl. From a Polish high school student in Brooklyn to a young teen gymnast training in Oklahoma. The latest, 'Amber Is For Caution' , follows an ex-model studying to become a surgical technician in Kentucky. Her books convey an un-precious, realistic and spirited account of someone's life.
Nylon magazine describes her work as “gritty, graphic and bullshit free.” She brings that same spirit to her celebrity shoots; Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson, and her portrait of Sienna Miller which resides in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery. She also takes pictures in the landscapes she loves; the American Midwest, Russia, Kentish Town and Coney Island.
Her photographs have been exhibited from New York (New Museum, solo exhibitions 2002 & 2004), through Barcelona (Museum of Contemporary Arts) and Tokyo (Laforet Museum) to the small mid-western town of Cherryvale, Kansas. And most recently London, at Lazarides Gallery.
Additionally, Valerie is co-founder of the Cherryvale Skateboard Company, an ongoing and ever evolving art project.
http://valeriephillips.com/