F.C. Gundlach. 90 years, 90 photos for the birthday

Contemporary Fine Arts
July 14 to September 2016

Contemporary Fine Arts is delighted to present the exhibition " 90 Years, 90 Photographs" to mark F.C. Gundlach's 90th birthday. Exclusively for CFA, Gundlach has selected his 90 most important, best, and most cherished photographs from his extensive oeuvre. Thematic shifts, contrasts, and surprises are intentional. Iconic classics by the legendary German fashion photographer are juxtaposed with free, experimental works: a featureless study dissolving into white, a Super Constellation propeller plane high above the clouds, a camel caravan traversing the desert, and the timeless portrait of model Karin Mossberg.

Key milestones in European post-war fashion photography are touched upon in the series of 90 images: beginning with the photographer's time in Berlin in the 1950s and the haute couture shows of the major Parisian fashion houses – such as Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, and Chanel – and continuing through prêt-à-porter fashion and the trends of the fashionable 1960s, the miniskirt, and the influence of Pop and Op Art on fashion collections and, above all, their photographic presentation. These are complemented by photographs that can be understood as emblematic of their respective eras: a photograph from 1947 in which a friend is captured as a silhouette in a doorway through the darkness of a church in his birthplace of Heinebach; the photographer's first Porsche 911 on the beach of Fanø; the impressive architecture of the Oscar Niemeyer-designed Brasília Cathedral; and finally, a photograph of Uschi Obermaier staged with inflatable dolls from a Pepsi commercial.

The exhibition showcases the reportage photography of the 1950s and 60s by the globetrotting photographer, as well as his portraits of artists and actors, from Martin Kippenberger to Romy Schneider. The 90 photographs come from a wide variety of contexts. What they have in common is that the photographer himself included them in his personal "Best Of" selection. This results in a subjective view of 90 years of F.C. Gundlach, reflecting the photographer's desire, at the age of 90, to extend his work beyond fashion photography. For F.C. Gundlach remains convinced that the boundaries between applied photography and photography as an art form are often taken far too literally.

In addition to the 90 photographic works, the exhibition includes a documentary section, presented in display cases, that recounts F.C. Gundlach's multifaceted biography and, through images and documents, portrays his life's journey shaped by work, travel, and people. It becomes clear how photography preoccupied him throughout his life – from his first photos as a ten-year-old using the self-timer of an Agfa box camera, to the behind-the-scenes glimpses into his legendary fashion photography, and finally to his time as a gallery owner, collector, museum director, and philanthropist.

Contemporary Fine Arts
Grolmannstr. 32/33
10623 Berlin