PHOTO:Andreas Gursky-Not Abstract

Andreas Gursky studied at the local Kunstakademie with Bernd Becher in the ‘80s. Alongside Thomas Struth, Jörg Sasse, Candida Höfer, and Thomas Ruff, he developed a distinct style that has become known as the Düsseldorf School of Photography. In his thematic exhibition “Not Abstract” Gursky is presenting 20 works dedicated to formal questions of abstraction.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: K20 Archive

Famous for his monumental landscapes and architecture photographs, Gursky has always been interested in photographic means of abstraction and composition, subjects he has been more intensely revisiting in recent years. In his exhibition “Not Abstract” that is on presentation at Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, he presents studies or rather simulations of abstract compositions in the vein of American postwar artists including: Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman. Many of Gursky’s photographs resemble abstract compositions from afar, only revealing their documentary nature under closer scrutiny. This effect is especially impressive with his latest series of tulip fields photographed from a great distance, the illusion seems almost perfect here. To stress his formal interest in abstraction and seriality, Gursky chose to give these works numbers rather than titles, thus negating any documentary interest and highlighting his purely aesthetic motivation. The exhibition at the K20 features the diverse forms of abstraction that have appeared in this artist’s oeuvre. Accompanying the photographic works is a minimalist sound installation by the Canadian producer and DJ Richie Hawtin.

Info: Curator: Marion Ackermann, Curatorial Assistant: Noura Dirani, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, K20 Grabbeplatz, Grabbeplatz 5, Düsseldorf, Duration 2/7-6/11/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-18:00, www.kunstsammlung.de