Tom Schierlitz

October 18, 1959 - February 28, 2018

I remember putting together color copies of Tom’s work in my scrapbook and thinking— “Wouldn’t it be cool if I work with this guy at some point.” It was probably around 1999 or 2000. His style was so unique—it seemed so simple and obvious. It felt “inevitable”—like there was no other way to shoot this object, but this way. It gave you a thrill to see the objects he photographed on the page of a magazine. No one was shooting still-life in this way at that time.

I still have that scrapbook and Tom’s work is still in it.

Tom and I met for the first time around 2007. I came down to his studio in Tribeca for a shoot we were doing for GQ. I was excited to finally work with him, but also intimidated by his sharp mind.

We worked together many, many times since then. But what’s even better—our professional relationship grew into a friendship.

I still know very little about photography, but I learned so much from Tom about other things in life—what is the proper way to assemble a 14-foot table top out of wood and the best way to sand it for a smooth finish, how long and at what temperature should red onions be cooked, how to use gummy bears to motivate kids to ski, how to make Korean pork tacos, what a pain it is to distill whiskey and many, many other small life hacks. His passion for doing things the right way was inspiring. And I will miss this the most.

It made me a better person.

-Anton Ioukhnovets

Tom's Memorial
March 25th, 2018 | 3:00PM - 6:00PM
Walker's Bar - 16 N Moore Street, New York, NY 10013