Bart Michiels (Belgian, b. 1964), Verdun 1916, Le Mort Homme, 2001, Chromogenic print, Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2007.21.20. |
Powerful Landscapes from Contemporary European Photographers |
Nelson-Atkins Human/Nature: Recent European Landscape Photography is an opportunity to view bold, contemporary works by Olaf Otto Becker, Peter Bialobrzeski, Andreas Gefeller, Beate Gütschow, and Marc Räder, all from Germany; Belgian photographer Bart Michiels; Wout Berger and Hans ver der Meer from the Netherlands; British photographer Jem Southam; and Massimo Vitali from Italy. “The relationship between human beings and the natural world is complex,” says April M. Watson, Associate Curator, Photography at the Nelson-Atkins. “Each of these artists view the contemporary European landscape as a source of continued fascination and beauty. Those sentiments are tempered, however, by concerns for the ways we use and abuse the land, both historically and in our own time.” Bart Michaels, for example, considers the weight of history as it informs former WWI battlefields, while Hans van der Meer’s views of amateur soccer fields situate the impassioned actions of players against the larger backdrop of Europe. For Becker and Bialobrzeski, landscape retains the romantic associations of an earlier age. Andreas Gefeller and Beate Gütschow use digital technologies to fabricate landscapes that oscillate between the strange and the familiar. For Vitali and Räder, cultural interventions such as the leisure industry are paramount concerns. Berger and Southam observe the transformation of place, the result of both human and natural processes. “Collectively, the artists in this exhibition suggest that our relationship with the natural world continues to be highly complicated as our dependence on nature — and nature’s reliance on us — becomes increasingly tenuous,” Watson said. The Photography Collection at the Nelson-Atkins grew from its initial holding of 1,015 prints to a collection of more than 7,000 works with the acquisition in early 2006 of the famed Hallmark Photographic Collection. "Thanks to continued growth since that wonderful gift, we now have masterpieces from the entire span of photography’s history, 1839 to the present. Our recent focus has been on European photography, both contemporary and 19th century, thanks in large part to the generosity of the Hall Family Foundation. This exhibition is the first major expression of this new area of emphasis,” said Keith F. Davis, Curator of Photography. |
Andreas Gefeller (German, b. 1970), Untitled (Tree Nursery), Neuss, 2005, Chromogenic print, Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2007.21.16, Courtesy Andreas Gefeller / HASTED HUNT, NYC.
Olaf Otto Becker (German, b. 1959), Haifossnebel, Iceland, 2002, Pigment ink print, Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2007.32.3, Copyright Olaf Otto Becker, Courtesy of the Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles.
Massimo Vitali (Italian, b. 1944), Viareggio Tuffo, 1995, Chromogenic print, Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2007.40.8. |
Peter Bialobrzeski (German, b. 1961), Heimat 27, Bayerischer Wald, 2005, Chromogenic print, Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2008.6.1. Copyright Peter Bialobrzeski, Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery, New York. |
