1974… 40 Years. 40 Photographs

EXHIBITION Sep 20, 2014 — Feb 26, 2015

BAUHAUS / ANONYMOUS

Untitled (Sculptural exercise by Walter Tralau. Vorkus László Moholy-Nagy), ca. 1926-27

gelatin silver print, printed 1926-27

10,5 x 6,6 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

DR. JOSEPH MARIA EDER & EDUARD VALENTA (1855–1944; 1857–1937)

Untitled (Different materials), from the album: 'Versuche über Photographie mittelst der Röntgen´schen Strahlen', 1896

photogravure from x-rays

26,1 x 20,9 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Werner Bischof (1916–1954)

Untitled (Abstraction), 1946

photogram, gelatin silver paper, printed ca. 1946

18,1 x 28,8 cm

© 2014 Werner Bischof Estate All rights reserved / Courtesy

HEINRICH KÜHN (1916–1954)

Untitled (Landscape), ca. 1898

brown gum-bichromate print, printed ca. 1898

73,3 x 55,5 cm

© Estate of the artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

US ARMY CORPS

Bikini Island Test, 1946

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1946

45,1 x 22,6 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

JITKA HANZLOVÁ (*1958)

o.T. 2010 (Taraxacum officinale), from the series 'Flowers', 2010

archival pigment print, printed 2012, Ed. of 8

25,7 x 18 cm

© Jitka Hanzlová / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017

František Drtikol (1883–1961)

Akt s dekoracio / Nude with quarter circle, ca. 1926

gelatin silver bromide print, printed ca. 1926

28,2 x 22,5 cm

© Růžena Knotková-Boková / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Eugène Atget (1857–1927)

Versailles. Kybele. Allée de Trois Fontaines, 1923

albumen print, printed ca. 1923 from the glass negative

20,3 x 15,5 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Ernst Fuhrmann / Folkwang-Auriga Verlag

Liliaceae, ca. 1930

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1930

ca. 24 x 18 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946)

Untitled (Photogram), Chicago, ca. 1937

gelatin silver print, ferrotyped, printed ca. 1937

25,4 x 20,6 cm

© Hattula Moholy-Nagy / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Jaromír Funke (1896–1945)

Die Spirale / The Spiral, 1924

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1920-30s

23,3 x 27,2 cm

© Miloslava Rupesová / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

VERNACULAR / ANONYMOUS

Untitled (Salto in der Luft), ca. 1940

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1940

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

8 x 10,2 cm

JOSEF SUDEK (1896–1976)

Detail with Baroque Wing, 1953–1954

pigment print on laid paper, printed ca. 1953–1954

21,1 x 16,3 cm

© Gabina Fárová / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Helmut Newton (1920–2004)

Shoe, Monte Carlo, 1983

gelatin silver print, printed later

36,2 x 23,5 cm

© The Helmut Newton Estate / Maconochie Photography / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

AENNE BIERMANN (1898–1933)

Untitled (Anthurium), c. 1927-1929

gelatin silver print, printed c. 1927-1929

46,8 x 37,7 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Constantin Brancusi (1876–957)

Léda, 1921

gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1921

16,7 x 22,6 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

Umbo (1902–1980)

Der Rasende Reporter, 1926

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1926

27,7 x 19,8 cm

© Phyllis Umbehr / Galerie Kicken Berlin / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014

Rudolf Koppitz (1884–1936)

Bewegungsstudie / Movement Study, 1925

gelatin silver bromide print, printed ca. 1925

29,8 x 23,8 cm

© Estate of the artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

MAN RAY (1890–1976)

Rayographie (projet pour une tapisserie) / Rayograph (tapestry project), 1925-1926

unique gelatin silver print, mounted on original paper, ink, printed ca. 1925-1926

29,2 x 23,5 cm

© Man Ray Trust, Paris / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI (1876–1957)

Lizica Codreanu dancing in Brancusi's studio, costume by Irina Codreanu, ca. 1923–1924

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1923-1924

23,8 x 17,9 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

UMBO (OTTO UMBEHR) (1902–1980)

Spielhof, 1928

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1928

26 x 21,3 cm

© Phyllis Umbehr / Galerie Kicken Berlin / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014

STEPHEN SHORE (*1947)

Grassy Key, Florida, 1977

c-print, printed ca. 1980

20,2 x 25,4 cm

© Stephen Shore / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)

Die Bäume vor meinem Fenster 2 / Trees in Front of my Window 2, 1956

gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1956

29,9 x 39,6 cm

© Estate Otto Steinert, Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ALFRED SEILAND (*1952)

Winterlandschaft, Proleb, Österreich / Winter Landscape, Proleb, Austria, 1981

c-print, printed 2014

29,5 x 37,5 cm

© Alfred Seiland / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ALBERT RENGER-PATZSCH (1897–1966)

Das Bäumchen / The Sapling, 1929

gelatin silver print, vintage or early print

22,7 x 16,8 cm

© Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Zülpich / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LEOPOLD AHRENDTS (active 1855/60s-1870)

Brandenburger Tor, Berlin / Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, ca. 1856/58

salt print, printed ca. 1856-1858

15,6 x 21,8 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

WERNER MANTZ (1901-1983)

Brücke in Köln / Bridge in Cologne, 1928

gelatin silver print, printed 1977

16,6 x 22,5 cm

© Werner Mantz / Nederlands Fotomuseum / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

WILHELM SCHÜRMANN (*1946)

Vervièrs, 1976

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1976

14,3 x 20,4 cm

© Wilhelm Schürmann / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HEINRICH RIEBESEHL (1938–2010)

'Schillerslage, Hannover' from 'Heinrich Riebesehl Portfolio', 1967–1982

gelatin silver print, printed 2005, Ed. of 35

ca. 30 x 40 cm

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

CHRISTER STRÖMHOLM (1918–2002)

Carmen, 1960s

gelatin silver print, printed later

23,7 x 28 cm

© 2014 Christer Strömholm/Strömholm Estate / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

UMBO (OTTO UMBEHR) (1902–1980)

Ruth mit Maske / Ruth with Mask, 1927

gelatin silver print, printed 1980, Ed. of 50

each ca. 23 x 17 cm

© Phyllis Umbehr / Galerie Kicken Berlin / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014

AUGUST SANDER (1876-1964)

Handlanger / Bricklayer, 1928

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1960s

30,3 x 22,8 cm

© Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Köln; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ARNOLD NEWMAN (1918-2006)

Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France, 1954

gelatin silver print, printed c. 1954

34,6 x 26,8 cm

© Estate of the artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ANDRÉ GELPKE (*1947)

Coney Island, 1972

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1981

27,5 x 41,4 cm

© André Gelpke / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HELMAR LERSKI (1870–1956)

'Metamorphosis, 597' from the series 'Metamorphosis through Light' Tel Aviv, 1935-36

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1936

25,5 x 18,7 cm

© Nachlaß Helmar Lerski, Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HELGA PARIS (*1938)

Selbst im Spiegel / Selfportrait in the Mirror, 1971

gelatin silver print, printed c. 1971

29,7 x 23,7 cm

© Helga Paris / Courtes Kicken Berlin

ED VAN DER ELSKEN (1925–1990)

Paris, Saint Germain des Prés, 1950

gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950

40,5 x 30,5 cm

Nederlands Fotomuseum © Ed van der Elsken

KLAUS KINOLD (*1939)

Brooklyn Bridge, New York, 1981

gelatin silver print on baryta paper, printed 2004

231 x 109 cm

© Klaus Kinold / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

F. C. GUNDLACH (*1926)

Romy mit Kreuz, Hamburg / Romy with Cross, Hamburg, 1961

gelatin silver print, printed 2014

50,2 x 33,7 cm

© F.C. Gundlach / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTOMAR ANSCHÜTZ (1846–1907)

Untitled (Flying Pigeons), ca. 1884

albumen print, printed ca. 1884

9,5 x 14 cm

© Public Domain / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

For 40 years the activities of Galerie Kicken Berlin have focused on spectacular and subtly compelling photographs from all epochs of photography. Conceived as both a vision for the future and retrospective, the exhibition 1974… 40 YEARS. 40 PHOTOGRAPHS is representative of the medium’s success story and the contribution that the gallery has made to firmly establishing photography in the international art trade. Including works from Pictorialism, the Bauhaus, New Objectivity, and New Vision, as well as their Central European variants represented by the Czech avant-garde, and featuring approaches ranging from fotoform to documentary styles, photo journalism, and candid photography, the works in the exhibition engage in a dialogue spanning multiple eras and styles.
Contributions by Heinrich Kühn and Rudolf Koppitz respectively mark the beginning and the end of Pictorialism. August Sander, Albert Renger-Patzsch, and Werner Mantz’s photographs represent the typologically precise, objective, and pared-down view of objects and buildings. Shown together with works from the 19th century, such as Leopold Ahrendts’ architectural vedute, these images demonstrate an inherently modern idiom. This is also true of the chronophotography of Ottomar Anschütz, in which a striking visual aesthetic precedes technical innovation.
Frantisek Drtikol is known for his unparalleled compositions with female nudes, Josef Sudek for his images of the objects that surrounded him, which he distilled from and elevated above the ordinary. Man Ray, László Moholy-Nagy, and Umbo pushed the boundaries of the photographic perspective, and their works inspired Otto Steinert and the fotoform group to revive the practise photography as an artistic means of expression extending beyond the portrayal of reality.
The works of Bernd and Hilla Becher as well as Heinrich Riebesehl portray industrial and agricultural sites as contemporary man-made landscapes. Despite the many differences in their personal imagery, the contemporary artists of the gallery—Joachim Brohm, Götz Diergarten, Charles Fréger, Jitka Hanzlová, Péter Nádas, Hans-Christian Schink and Alfred Seiland—share a conceptual approach in their perspectives on people and the environment.
Understanding photography as art and, above all, as an adventure of seeing—communicating this to a wider public was the goal of Rudolf Kicken’s 40 years of gallery work, which Annette Kicken and her team are continuing with this selection of 40 seminal photographs.