Andreas Gursky Solo Exhibition at Haus der Kunst

Wednesday, 10 January 2007 19:20

Munich, Germany - For the first time in nine years, Andreas Gursky will show his works in a museum context in Germany in a solo exhibition.  The Düsseldorf artist will present 50 large format works.  The majority of these works was created following his much-acclaimed exhibition in New York's Museum of Modern Art in 2001.  The presentation at the Haus der Kunst contains works from 18 years of artistic production: The oldest work in the exhibition dates from 1989, the newest from 2007.  The largest exhibition of the artist's works to date will be on view in the east wing of the Haus der Kunst, covering an area of 1,800 square meters.  On exhibition February 17, 2007 – May 13, 2007.

Andreas Gursky has also re-interpreted familiar motifs using current digital technology for this exhibition: "This exhibition represents a new territory for me."  Gursky has enlarged the standard format of his images as well, tailoring them especially to the exhibition situation.  The largest images now measure 188 x 508 cm. 

Andreas Gursky was born in Leipzig in 1955 and studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen from 1978 to 1981 before transferring to the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he earned his degree as a master-class student with Prof. Bernd Becher in 1985.  Since the late 1980s Andreas Gursky has presented his works in countless solo and group exhibitions.  His works are included in many important national and international collections.  In addition, his art regularly achieves top prices at auctions.

From the beginning of his artistic activities Andreas Gursky has addressed contemporary themes, visual phenomena of a globalized world, arranged into three categories: work, leisure time and representation.  These categories allow his photographs to be classified into the production of goods and their distribution, modern production plants and international stock exchanges, major entertainment events, such as concerts and sport events, and aspects of mass tourism, as well as the presentation of luxury goods and supermarket products.

The artist's photographs are often taken from a slightly elevated perspective.  This vantage point displays the local contexts as entities that are often unusual to the viewer.  People are integrated into the scenes.  They play the part of extras and serve as substitutes for the viewer.  The images appear clear and ordered.  Through the repetition and variation of individual elements, decorative structures are created that lend the works a graphic appearance when viewed from a distance, while details provide an overabundance of information when seen close up.

Since the early 1990s Andreas Gursky has made use of the technical possibilities of digital processing in the production of his images.  The motifs are photographed using both analog and digital methods.  Employing the many shots taken this way, the final image is composed using digital technology. Andreas Gursky's works, therefore, are not classical documentary photographs that attempt to portray objects with the greatest possible likeness by making use of the medium, but are, rather, images that show fictive elements and are constructions of authenticity.  It is thus not a question of simple representation but rather an individually developed view of the world.  "Reality can only be portrayed when one constructs it.”  The photographer is transformed from an annalist into an author.  With his works Andreas Gursky succeeds in creating not only a subjective, visual inventory of a globalized, capitalistic society, but also an analysis of its structures and functions.

 Following its start at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the show is planned to travel to Istanbul Modern, Sharjah Art Museum, House of Photography in Moscow, National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne and Vancouver Art Gallery.  Thomas Weski, Chief Curator at Haus der Kunst, will prepare the exhibition and its tour. 

The catalogue will be published by Snoeck Verlag; 68 Euro,160 pages, 60 illustrations, ISBN 3-936859-50-7.  The presentation in Munich is funded by the Bayerische Sparkassenstiftung and the Sparkassen-Kulturfonds des Deutschen Sparkassen - und Giroverbands.

Visit Haus der Kunst at : www.hausderkunst.de/