PHOTO:Andreas Gursky

The work of Andreas Gursky is recognized for his enormous architecture and landscape color photographs, often using an aerial vantage point and by the tension between the clarity and formal nature of his photographs. His work is comparable to that of Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff and Candida Höfer, all of whom were influenced by the documentary approach of Bernd and Hilla Becher (their teachers at the famous Kunstakademie Düsseldorf).

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Sprueth Magers Gallery Archive

During the ‘80s and ‘90s Gursky’s work took on an increasingly global range of subjects, and he presented his images on an ever larger scale. Gursky’s highly detailed photographs capture both naturally occurring and man-made environments. Most of Gursky’s images are made of large, man-made spaces. He tends to position the camera from an elevated vantage point that allows the viewer to see both the center of the subject and a wide peripheral view. Early in his career, the art photographer, established his approach to image-making by seeking images that he could capture and reveal. More recently, he has adopted a different approach and many of his images, are compositions created from digital aggregates to communicate a sense of place in the abstract. The artist sells most of his images in editions of six with two artist’s proofs. He holds the record for the highest price paid for a since image when a print of “Rhein II” sold for USD $4,338,500 at Christie’s, in 2011. The exhibition “Andreas Gursky: Landscapes”, at the Parrish Art Museum, features 20 small & large photographs form the ‘80s to the present. In this exhibition, his photographs are explored through the lens of historical landscape painting of the 19th century. While Gursky’s images can be seen as distanced, impassive, or impersonal, his point of view does not necessarily mean that he is untouched by what he sees and experiences. As Andreas Gursky says: “Now I have my images more or less in mind and I look at reality in a different way because I know that I am not dependent on a situation that shows everything in a balanced composition. Because I have digital possibilities, I can work more independently. I am not a painter, but I have the same freedom now”.

Info: Andreas Gursky: Landscapes, Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Hwy, Water Mill, N. York, Duration: 2/8-18/10/15, Days & Hours: Sat-Mon & Wed-Thu: 10:00-17:00, Fri: 10:00-20:00, http://parrishart.org