ANDREAS GURSKY

The oeuvre of the Düsseldorf-based, internationally renowned photographic artist Andreas Gursky offers in contemporary photography a new approach to realism. Often highly conceptual in his approach, Gursky makes full use of photo montage using digital technology.

 For his major exhibition at Museum Kunstpalast, Gursky selected 60 works from his oeuvre. Some of the more recent pieces are to be shown to the public for the first time in this one-off show. Rather than following a chronological order, the exhibition mixes new and old, small and some very large-scale works, offering new and unusual perspectives on Gursky’s photographic art.

Gursky’s subjects encompass architecture, landscape and interiors, as well as large-scale events attended by huge crowds. The Düsseldorf exhibition spans from the early 1980s through to the very recent series such as Ocean I-VI, 2010, and Bangkok, 2011.

Nearly all of Gursky’s photographic works are based on a multitude of shots. These are elaborately condensed together on a computer, becoming one integral composition. Gursky’s aim is neither to achieve documentary objectivity, nor to present a subjective perspective, but to create a synthesis of visual structures, and construct a perfect individual picture or series.

 “Invariably, Gursky initially starts off by searching for images, and in a second step invents his picture. Gursky’s pictures do not appear out of nowhere, they are always based on a picture which existed previously. No matter, to what extent - he works on  the 'pre-picture` until it finally matches what he had in mind.” (Beat Wismer, General Director of the Foundation Museum Kunstpalast)

Andreas Gursky (born 1955) studied Visual Communication with Otto Steinert and Michael Schmidt from 1977 to 1981at the Folkwang University in Essen. He subsequently continued his studies at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, where from 1985 until his graduation in 1987 he was master student of Bernd Becher. Along with artists including Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff, Jörg Sasse and Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky was part of the group of Becher students who coined the term “Düsseldorf School of Photography”. In 2010 Andreas Gursky was appointed professor at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, where he teaches free art.

The 112-page catalogue Andreas Gursky. Bangkok is published by Steidl, comprising textual contributions from Hans Irrek, Beat Wismer and John Yau. (38 Euro)

Sponsor: METRO GROUP, NATIONAL-BANK