Ulrich Hensel | |
|---|---|
 Ulrich Hensel, Düsseldorf Breite Straße II, C-Print Diasec, 239,7 x 200 cm, 2003 | |
| Born | 1946 |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Visual artist |
Ulrich Hensel (born 1946) is a German visual artist known for his large format colour photographs of construction sites.
He was born in Düsseldorf in 1946 and studied psychology, art and film. Ulrich Hensel did a number of different series of works (e.g. Middle East and North Africa, 1967-1975, India, 1981-1990, local deities in North and in South India, 1995-1997) but since 1991 he has been focusing on images of construction sites.
While not being formally associated with the Düsseldorf School of Photography the serial character of Ulrich Hensel's images and his similarly methodical approach suggests certain parallels to the school of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Andreas Gursky, with whom for some time he shared a flat, is said to be a fan of his work. Gurskys famous image Gasherd from 1980 was shot in their flat. However, Hensel's oeuvre is viewed as occupying a unique place among the photographic art to come out of Germany. [1]
For nearly two decades, Ulrich Hensel has been working almost obsessively focussing on one single subject: construction sites. His images are often abstract and sometimes minimalist – "grids, dots, fastenings and iron grilles extend across the pictures in rigorous formations defined by the functions of the objects shown" [1] – and inevitably create associations with the geometric abstract art of Kazimir Malevich [2] and Piet Mondrian. The technical world of rebars, Lintels, insulation, wall markings, cladding and steel bars in his works are the metaphors to works from Mark Rothko, Donald Judd as well as Cy Twombly. Like Leonardo da Vinci recognized a world from drawings in a weathered wall, Ulrich Hensel loves to look at construction sites. [3]
Hensel's works have the feeling of extended three-dimensional object modelling in a kind of crossover between photography, painting, object, and installation art, imperfection caught as if by chance in a perfect moment. [4]
In contrast to Andreas Gursky, who in recent years has been heavily relying on computers to edit and enhance his pictures, Hensel is concerned with authenticity and avoids digital manipulations. His large-format photographs are described as "unobtrusive and complex at the same time". [1]
Most of Hensel's photos come in editions of six with two artist's proof. He is represented by Sprüth Magers Munich Berlin London in Europe.
Bernhard "Bernd" Becher, and Hilla Becher, née Wobeser, were German conceptual artists and photographers working as a collaborative duo. They are best known for their extensive series of photographic images, or typologies, of industrial buildings and structures, often organised in grids. As the founders of what has come to be known as the 'Becher school' or the Düsseldorf School of Photography, they influenced generations of documentary photographers and artists in Germany and abroad. They were awarded the Erasmus Prize and the Hasselblad Award.
Andreas Gursky is a German photographer and professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany.
Hilla Becher was a German conceptual photographer. Becher was well known for her industrial photographs, or typologies, with longtime collaborator and husband, Bernd Becher. Her career spanned more than 50 years and included photographs from the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Italy.
Thomas Ruff is a German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany. He has been described as "a master of edited and reimagined images".
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, Gotthard Graubner, Nam June Paik, Nan Hoover, Katharina Fritsch, Tony Cragg, Ruth Rogers-Altmann, Sigmar Polke, Anselm Kiefer, Rosemarie Trockel, Thomas Schütte, Katharina Grosse and photographers Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand, Thomas Struth, Andreas Gursky and Candida Höfer. In the stairway of its main entrance are engraved the Words: "Für unsere Studenten nur das Beste".
Gotthard Graubner was a German painter, born in Erlbach, in Saxony, Germany.
Bettina Pousttchi is a German artist of German-Iranian descent. She currently lives in Berlin. She has worked in photography, sculpture, video and site-specific installation.
Ralf Brueck is a German artist.
Anna Blume and Bernhard Johannes Blume were German art photographers. They created sequences of large black-and-white photos of staged scenes in which they appeared themselves, with objects taking on a "life" of their own. Their works have been shown internationally in exhibitions and museums, including New York's MoMA. They are regarded as "among the pioneers of staged photography".
Rhein II is a colour photograph made by German visual artist Andreas Gursky in 1999. In the image, a river flows horizontally across the field of view, between flat green fields, under an overcast sky. Extraneous details such as dog walkers and a factory building were removed by the artist using digital editing.
Thea Djordjadze is a contemporary German-Georgian artist based in Berlin, Germany. She is best known for sculpture and installation art, but also works in a variety of other media.
Michael Reisch is a German artist and photographer. Reisch exhibited nationally and internationally. His works are included in collections worldwide, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA and National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland. His works combine aspects of documentary photography, painting and sculpture. He lives in Düsseldorf.
Monika Sprüth is a German art dealer and co-founder of Sprüth Magers.
Peter Schwickerath is a German sculptor.
Sabine Hornig is a German visual artist and photographer who lives and works in Berlin. Her work in photography, sculpture, and site-specific installation art is known for her interpretations of modernist architecture and contemporary urban life. Her work has appeared in solo exhibitions throughout the world, including Double Transparency at Art Unlimited Basel in Switzerland (2014) and Projects 78 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (2003), and in numerous group exhibitions at institutions like the J.Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and ICA London.
Axel Hütte is a German photographer. He is considered one of main representatives of the Düsseldorf School of Photography.
Franz Christian Gundlach was a German photographer, gallery owner, collector, curator and founder.
Juergen Staack is a German minimalist and conceptual artist based in Düsseldorf.
Jörg Sasse is a German photographer. His work uses found images that are scanned, pixelated and manipulated.
Carl (Karl) Ernst Forberg was a German engraver, etcher and painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting.
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