Andreas Gursky
Werke/Works 80-08
May 30 to September 20, 2009
 Andreas Gursky James Bond Island III, 2007 C-Print © Andreas Gursky / SODRAC (2009) Courtesy: Sprüth Magers, Berlin/London |
This groundbreaking exhibition presents a remarkable overview of the
work of Andreas Gursky, the celebrated Düsseldorf-based photographer who is widely
renowned for his ongoing project to compile an ‘encyclopedia of life.’ Now, for the
first time ever, Gursky has chosen to present more than 70 works from throughout
his career, reaching back in time to his student days at the Folkwang Hochschule
Essen, followed by the period in which he studied in the class taught by Bernd and
Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Beginning with the earliest photographs,
the exhibition describes an enormous trajectory that takes us to his most recent
monumental works, conceived and produced especially for this exhibition. Andreas Gursky: Werke/Works 80-08 offers a radical departure in the presentation of Gursky’s work. The majority of the photographs in the exhibition are printed in a small format that has not been used by the artist since the early 1980s and it is significant that he has chosen to do so at this time. For many years, Gursky has utilized increasingly larger formats in his work, monumental in scale and vision, but with this exhibition it is possible to revisit many familiar works at a scale and in a context that encourages a reconsideration of the individual images and his oeuvre as a whole. The exhibition is co-organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Kunstmuseen, Krefeld, and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm and curated by Dr. Martin Hentschel, director, Kunstmuseen Krefeld. |