Art

Sheila Rock was born in the USA and studied at Boston University and the London Film School. She has lived and worked in London since 1970. Describing herself as an ‘accidental photographer’, she became an influential force shaping the look of creative magazines like The FACE magazine. Rock’s portrait photography covers a wide spectrum of subjects. Ranging from the emergence of Punk and New Wave music, her striking portrait series of Horses, and her sensitive images of British holiday goers depicting a thoughtful portrait of the resolute spirit of British Summer Time. Rock has exhibited extensively across Europe and Asia, and a selection of her photographs are now housed in the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection in London. In addition to this rich body of work, Rock’s editorial and fashion work has appeared in numerous publications, including: Time Magazine, Elle, Glamour, Rolling Stone, Architectural Digest and the Sunday Times. Most famed for her photographs of the music and fashion industry, Rock’s book Punk: a Document of Punk from 1976-1980, was released in 2013 with subsequent exhibitions in Tokyo, China, Singapore, Taiwan and London. Recording the emergence of Punk and New Wave music in the 1970s and 80s, from the Cure to the Clash, from Siouxsie Sioux to the staff of Vivienne Westwood’s Sex shop, Rock records the raw energy and DIY ethos of a London right on the brink of a movement. In the 90s, Rock revealed a shift in her personal work, producing an impressive portrait series of Horses. Powerful images with the dignity of a 19th century ‘Carte de Visite’, these black and white portraits capture the graceful intensity of her equestrian subjects. Several of Rock’s Horse Portraits have been acquired by Ralph Lauren Polo for their collection. "TOUGH & TENDER" is a delicate and sensitive report from the English seaside. A visual love letter to the British. She launched her book with an exhibition in Liverpool as part of the Look Photo Festival. Later she showed these in 2015 at the Breede Gallery in Berlin and at the Agnes B gallery at Paris Photo in 2016. Chelsea Space Gallery in London showed a mix show of her punk and English portraits by the sea in 2017. “80s SOUND AND VISION” (published in 2022) is an overview of youth culture in the 80s featuring photographs from her days shooting for THE FACE magazine. The National Portrait Gallery London exhibited her work the exhibition titled THE FACE MAGAZINE from February–May 2025. “NEW ROMANTICS FROM BILLY’S TO THE PEOPLE’S PALACE” is her most current book. Launched in 2023, it is a collection of photographs of the early 1980s New Romantics Clubland where the real fashion happened on the streets. Here are the roots of gender fluidity and an array of impressive talents that emerged from the suburbs and art schools invigorated the London landscape with positivity and possibility. Her current books celebrate English subculture in the 1980s. In 2023 she had an exhibition in Tokyo at the Book Marc Gallery featuring her collection of these titles. In 2024 and 2025 she exhibited her music portraits at the Street Level Gallery in Glasgow and at the Dimbola Museum in the Isle of Wight UK. She is also showing works at the National Portrait Gallery during their FACE magazine exhibition from February to May 2025. Her work is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A and the Houston Fine Art Museum.