Since 1974 Kicken Berlin is dedicated to the innovative presentation and promotion of the medium photography. Today the gallery is still guided by the mission of its founder, Rudolf Kicken (1947-2014): to invite photography to enter into productive dialogue with other artistic media, and thus to convey to an international audience the importance of photography as an art form.
One of the gallery’s strengths is its diversity. Many of the major names in photography dating from the beginnings of the medium in the 19th century have been presented in the gallery program. The focus, however, lies in the 20th century, particularly on the German and Czech avante-garde of the twenties and thirties as well as the outstanding masters of the genre. Also the subjective photography/fotoform movement of the fifties, West and East German photography, fashion photography, German New Topographics and postwar conceptual as well as few selected contemporary positions are core emphases. The discovery of new or previously overlooked photographic and artistic work is a special area of interest. As a result, the gallery has presented the shining stars of the history of photography as well as anonymous snapshots and exceptional images from functionally oriented photography. The estates managed by the gallery, including those of Erwin Blumenfeld, Ed van der Elsken, Heinrich Kühn, Rudolf Koppitz, Helmar Lerski, Heinrich Riebesehl, and Umbo, among others, are of particular importance.
Further Information:
History and Gallery Locations
The current Gallery Kicken Berlin has its roots in Galerie Lichttropfen, founded by Rudolf Kicken in Aachen in 1974, together with Wilhelm Schürmann. From the very beginning the gallery pursued an ambitious program of exhibitions and publications. In 1979 the gallery moved to Cologne as Galerie Rudolf Kicken.
As of 2000 Annette and Rudolf Kicken jointly managed the gallery, which moved to Linienstraße 155 in Berlin, at the heart of the capital’s gallery district. The exhibition space designed by J. MAYER H. Architects as a flexible, walk-through installation offered an experience of photography that went beyond the traditional white cube. Also at this address was the Kicken II showroom, which allowed passersby to look in from the street, which remained in use until 2010.
Since 2007 until early 2019 the gallery was located in a unique purpose-built townhouse at Linienstrasse 161A, designed by its owners Annette and Rudolf Kicken to provide a setting for visitors to immerse themselves in the art on display.
In the spring of 2019 Kicken Berlin moved to its current location at Kaiserdamm 118, in the center of Berlin–Charlottenburg. Here Annette Kicken and her team are all the more devoted to museum-quality exhibitions, external curatorial projects, cooperations and publications in order to share the specialized knowledge and know-how that they have accrued over decades.
1974 – Fall 1976
Galerie Lichttropfen,
Kockerellstr. 19, 5100 Aachen
Fall 1976 – 1978
Galerie Schürmann & Kicken,
Hof 3, 5100 Aachen
1979 – 1980
Galerie Rudolf Kicken,
Albertusstr. 47–49, 5000 Cologne
1981 – 1986
Galerie Rudolf Kicken,
Albertusstr. 1, 5000 Cologne
1987 – 1990
Galerie Kicken-Pauseback,
Bismarckstr. 50, 5000 Cologne 1
1991 – 1999
Galerie Rudolf Kicken,
Bismarckstr. 50, 5000 Cologne 1
2000 – 2007
Kicken Berlin,
Linienstr. 155, 10115 Berlin
Kicken I / Kicken II
2007 – March 2019
Kicken Berlin
Linienstr. 161A, 10115 Berlin
April 2019 until today
Kicken Berlin
Kaiserdamm 118, 14057 Berlin