photography

February 11, 2015

Munich; Villa Stuck, opening of “Common Grounds”

12 February-17 May 2015 ; a very interesting exhibition opened Wednesday night at Villa Stuck, “Common Grounds” curated by Verena Hein

artists: Susan Hefuna, Sophia Al Maria, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige,Bouchra Khalili, Nasser Al Salem, Ahmed Mater,Dor Guez, DAAR ‒ Decolonising Architecture Art Residency (established in in Palestine in 2007 by Sandi Hilal, Alessandro Petti, and Eyal Weizmann),Babak Golkar, Parastou Forouhar, Abbas Akhavan.

“The rising cities of the Gulf region and arenas of conflict in the Middle East are captivating subjects of media coverage. Both in terms of their content and through their manipulative aesthetic, the often extreme images from these areas shape our western view of the region. Twelve artists counter this flood of images with more diverse artistic practices that reflect on social conditions. Some of these artists ‒ Ahmed Mater, Hazem Harb, and Nasser Al Salem ‒ are for the first time introduced to the German and Munich public….. The exhibition title refers to the concept of “grounding” in communication theory, which posits that communication partners share common knowledge, which allows for dialog to be successful.” (Villa Stuck Press release)

more here

following the opening exhibition an Artist Panel followed with Chris Dercon, Director, Tate Modern, London and the following artists:
Abbas Akhavan, Parastou Forouhar, Babak Golkar, Susan Hefuna, and Ahmed Mater, with an introduction by Maya El Khalil, director of Athr Gallery, Jeddah

full program

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November 30, 2014

Munich: presentation of Stefan Hunstein’ s new book “IM EIS” at the Kammerspiele Theater, ed. by Dr Petra Giloy-Hirtz

A beautiful sunday 12 o’clock event at the Münchner Kammerspiele Theater for the new book of photographs by Stefan Hunstein,”IM EIS” also a very famous german actor, published by Hirmer Verlag GmbH; a discussion followed with the photographer and Dr Petra Giloy-Hirtz and Dr Ulrich Pohlmann.

The photographs were exhibited (May 9-June 15, 2014) at the Münchner Stadmuseum

Stefan Hunstein, is one of those photographers that have braved the polar seas and he traveled to Greenland in 2012 and returned with an enthralling portfolio of breathtakingly beautiful images of the ends of the world…”

” The magic of the polar regions has fascinated and attracted explorers for centuries. This desolate world, characterized by gigantic icebergs, drift ice, and Arctic temperatures, conforms to everyone’s conception of a pristine, archaic landscape, which, however, is accessible only for a short time and at the cost of enormous physical effort with the aid of sophisticated technology. Those who visit this bizarre landscape of ice and snow are overwhelmed by the sensation of being just a tiny, insignificant entity in the midst of a grandiose natural spectacle.
In the last few years a number of artists, such as Olafur Eliasson and Darren Almond, have discovered these Arctic regions and responded creatively to their natural wonders in different ways.” (museum press release)

(published photos@Münchner Staadtmuseum/exhibit)

The gathering took place at the Kammerspiele Theater with the impressive and in sync staging of the now play “März” of Heinar Kipphardt; Stefan Hunstein read a beautiful text from Christoph Ransmayr, Abschlag am Nordpol (from his book: “Atlas eines ängstlichen Mannes”

photos@VK

Stefan Hunstein is represented by Andreas Binder gallery

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November 18, 2014

Paris; visiting the paris photo et more…

A lovely weekend in Paris by train to visit the Paris Photo at Grand Palais and some more nice exhibitions, not efficient time to visit the Louis Vuitton new bldg by Frank Gehry.. (good excuse for soon again new visit)

Katy Grannat : upstairs exhibition; new MoMA acquisitions

Collier Schorr, “Picture of Women”, 2010, MoMa aquisition

a crowded Ropac booth, a fantastic installation of Robert Mapplethorpe, curated by Isabelle Huppert.

And of course my favorite gallery from New York with fabulous presentation, Howard Greenberg gallery

A Saturday visit at Patrick Seguin gallery in Paris’s Bastille neighborhood (ccupying a 300 sqm (3200 sq ft) space, rearchitectured by Jean Nouvel)

The exhibition at the present is called “Kurimanzutto“ hosting works by Damián Ortega, Gabriel Kuri, Jonathan Hernández, Gabriel Orozco, Jimmie Durham, Gabriel Sierra and Rirkrit Tiravanija. “… this exhibition unfolds around considerations on the themes of accessibility to the public, of restriction to domestic use, but also of travel experience, of exile and areas of conflict.
kurimanzutto was established in 1999, in Mexico City, with the aim of bringing together and supporting the work of a group of young artists, both Mexican and foreign.” (gallery press release)

photos@VK

more here http://www.patrickseguin.com/en/exhibitions/2014/kurimanzutto/

continued to Marais area, at Ropac gallery; downstairs a lovely exhibition by Lisa Lou “Ixube” and upstairs “Tomorrow’s Man” curated by Jack Pierson.

Liza Lou at Ropac @ Ropac gallery

photos@VK by permission

at Marian Goodman, a Giovanni Anselmo beautiful installation

@published photos on gallery site

Saturday late afternoon at Gagosian gallery, a solo exhibition by Cecily Brown (her first one in Paris- all new works), exhibition runs October 19-December 20, 2014

Something that’s just glimpsed seems more real than something that’s fully described.
—Cecily Brown

more on the exhibition here http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/cecily-brown–october-19-2014

An amazing evening dinner (thanks to an invitation by my doctor Dr Rubinger, at “Porte 12“ at Rue de Messageries, on 10th, with heading Chef Vincent Crepel; Taiwanese chef André Chiang (whose restaurant Andre in Singapore) opened Porte 12 just 2 months ago: interesting journey to wonderful high taste menu. “Reactivating what was once a textile and lingerie atelier, Porte 12 has been created in harmony within the fundamentals of its predecessors – e marvelous artistry works of one’s pair of hands and ceaseless interminable inspirations – merged in a blend of contemporary and old, creativity and simplicity.”

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October 9, 2014

Munich: Neue Pinakothek “Seeing Venice…”Photography before 1900 from the Dietmar Siegert Collection

09.10.2014 – 02.02.2015

A beautiful opening last night at Neue Pinakothek. Presentation by Dr Klaus Schrenk (General Director of the Bavarian Museums) and Dr Herbert W.Rott (Conservator at Neue Pinakothek).

“The exhibition features a selection of thirty early photographs of the lagoon city from the Siegert Collection and juxtaposes them with masterpieces of Venetian vedute painting by Francesco Guardi and Michele Marieschi from the Alte Pinakothek……In the 18th-century paintings we see scenes pulsating with life and colourful celebrations, while the photographs of Domenico Bresolin, Antonio Perini, Carlo Ponti, and Carlo Naya herald the dawn of a new aesthetic sensibility and feature silent views of the canals flanked by palaces threatened by decay. ..” (museum press release)

more here http://www.pinakothek.de/en/node/50422

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September 5, 2014

Munich; Regina Schmeken at Villa Stuck “Unter Spielern – Die Nationalmannschaft “

Munich; Villa Stuck ; 15 June-14 September 2014

On Sunday, sept 14th, at 3.30 pm a walk thru with Regina Schmeken /Villa Stuck.

For Regina Schmeken is the representation of movement an essential part of her work. Her serial photographs focus on the crucial moment between standstill and action in football.

The toned body of players win by the black and white shots a sculptural quality, which is enhanced by an unusual composition and lighting. The artist here focuses entirely on the actors/players and her decisive moments draw graphically clear the complexity of the action sequences. She focuses on the protagonist and especially on the, often determining, apparent stillness, isolated from the complex sequence of movements.

The photographer accompanied the team to a total of 16 international matches from March 2011 until the end of the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.

more here at Villa Stuck exhibition

http://www.villastuck.de/ausstellungen/2014/schmeken/index.htm

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July 30, 2014

Munich: at Museum Brandhorst “Richard Avedon. Murals and Portraits”

18 July-09 September 2014

An amazing exhibition at the Brandhorst Museum of exceptional works by Richard Avedon. After a month vacation in Greece and Italy, my afternoon walk at this exhibition highlighted my summer, The images selected for this exhibition focus on a different aspect of his work other as he is known for his influence on fashion photography.

Avedon politically enlightened and liberally minded, made four large photographic murals between 1969 and 1971 in the face of the social and political upheaval and change in the USA. Three of these four works are being shown in the Museum Brandhorst. The murals are complemented by three other groups of work, comprising a selection of striking portraits made from the ’50s onwards. The broad spectrum of sitters ranges from Francis Bacon to Samulel Backett, Truman Capote, Marcel Duchamp and Bob Dylan, as well as to Buster Keaton, Marilyn Monroe and Ezra Pound.

more here:

www.museum-brandhorst.de/en/current-exhibition

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June 28, 2014

Ulm; day visit with the Freunde of HdK; the Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Neu-Ulmer Kunst GmbH and The Walther Collection

A day trip to the city of Ulm with the Freunde of HdK, starting early morning from Munich. Thanks to our wonderful managing director, Ms Elke Bernhart for a beautiful and so well organized day.

First stop the Kunsthalle Weisphaupt, given a tour of the collection by Siegfried Weishaupt.

“I collect intuitively,” is one of Siegfried Weishaupt`s understatements describing his talent for discovering works of art. This passion has occupied the industrialist from Schwendi, near Ulm, and his wife Jutta for more than four decades. The result is an outstanding ensemble of exquisite works by famous artists, which cannot be explained by intuition only….over the years, the collector and his wife Jutta have expanded their focus from the geometric “Concrete” art to other art movements: First to the Abstract Expressionism of US artists as Mark Rothko for instance, or to the work of Robert Rauschenberg giving a new impetus, then to Pop Art and contemporary art movements.

more here : http://www.kunsthallenweishaupt.de/web/index.php

a beautiful lunch followed at the courtyard of the Kunthalle

afterwards we visit the Neu-Ulmer Kunst GmbH (works by Martin Kippenberger, Francis Bacon, Uli Pohl, Klaus Hack, Niki de Saint Phalle, Günther Uecker among many others.

and last stop the Walther Collection

at the moment the exhibition “Distance and Desire: Encounters with the African Archive” curated by Tamar Garb. (June 9. 2013-May 17, 2015 ) This exhibition brigs together late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century portraits, rates de visit, postcards, album pages, and books from Southern and Eastern Africa, set in dialogue with recent photography and video by contemporary artists who have engaged with photographic archives.

more here http://www.walthercollection.com/#/main@home_main

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June 27, 2014

Munich; Esther Donatz gallery; new photographs by Susann Körner

28.06.2014 – 26.07.2014

A beautiful and poetic exhibition of photographs by Susann Körner; The photographs exhibited at Esther Donatz Gallery are surprising and irritating at the same time.

Although the locations are not specified, the interweaving of the depicted elements and their environment is central: Space and objects enter into a dialogue with each other and form a unit of suggestive complexity. Signs initiate new meanings and ways of interpretation. Susann Körner creates further cross-references by collecting her works in a comprehensive archive to eventually re-arrange and present them in diverse contexts. “Vicinities” and “after-images” evolve.

http://galeriedonatz.de/en/exhibitions/current/susann-koerner-opening-june-26-2014

photo@Esther Donatz (Susann Körner & Venetia Kapernekas)

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June 19, 2014

Munich: opening exhibition of Stan Douglas at Haus der kunst and “Helen Laurence” at Münchner Kammerspiele

On the occasion of the exhibition opening at Haus der kunst of Stan Douglas, at 5 pm a talk took place between Stan Douglas, Johan Simons, intendant of Münchner Kammerspiele, Okwui Enwezor, and León Krempel

Haus der Kunst presents the photographs that Stan Douglas has produced since 2008, as well as his newest works, revealing him at an exceptional moment in his artistic career in the exhibition “Stan Douglas: Mise en Scène”: In these works, Douglas has closely interwoven music, film, theater, photography, and digital formats, allowing them simultaneously to be associated with various forms of media.

A focal piece in the exhibition is the video-music installation “Luanda – Kinshasa” (2013), a fictional narrative about the absent Miles Davis. Douglas also broke new ground with his theatrical production of “Helen Lawrence” (2014), in which the actors’ performances are filmed in real time and immediately uploaded into a computer-generated environment. “Helen Lawrence” will run as a guest performance at the theater Münchner Kammerspiele simultaneous to the exhibition.

photos@Eva Poetters

I had the privilege to attend the amazing cinematic production of Stan Douglas “Helen Laurence” and discussion at the Münchner Kammerspiele last night and followed by a lovely dinner.

more on the exhibition http://www.hausderkunst.de/en/agenda/detail/stan-douglas-opening-and-talk/

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March 13, 2014

Munich; afternoon visit at Bernheimer Fine Art Photography; Michael Kenna “Light on Asia”

Fri, Feb.21-Sat 26 April 2014

a beautiful spring day in Munich yesterday, I visited in the afternoon the Bernheimer Fine Art Photography, a fabulous show by Michael Kenna, based on his journey through Asia.

In San Francisco Michael Kenna, got to know Ruth Bernard (Berlin 1905 – San Francisco 2006), the American photographer of German extraction who has had a great influence on Kenna’s creative development. Bernard once called Kenna’s photos “islands of serenity and silence in a loud and chaotic world.”

photos@Bernheimer fine arts, published by gallery permission

“.…In this third solo exhibition of around fifty photographs by Michael Kenna, the visitor is invited to take a sensational trip through Asia, from Japan, South Korea, China and India to Vietnam. On this journey we pass through the “Huangshan Mountains” in southern China, with their bizarre projecting rock formations, gnarled pines and steep mountain slopes shrouded in a dense sea of clouds, and follow the course of the “Lijang River”, with its clear waters and sandbanks, fringed by steep mountains and spectacular rocks. In addition to capturing the different shapes of Nature, Kenna also shows us the foremost industrial city in China: Shanghai with its skyline studded with iconic buildings such as the Oriental Pearl Tower and Jin Mao Tower sparkling in the darkness of the night.” (gallery press release)

more here

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Category: photography