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F.C. Gundlach 90 Years 90 Photos CFA Berlin


Contemporary Fine Arts


17 July to September 2016


On the occasion of F.C. Gundlach's 90th birthday, Contemporary Fine Arts is pleased to present the exhibition 90 Years 90 Photos.

For his 90th birthday, F.C. Gundlach selected his 90 most important, best and dearest photographs from his extensive oeuvre exclusively for CFA. Thematic breaks, frictions and surprises are explicitly wanted.

Iconic classics by the legendary German fashion photographer are accompanied by free, experimental works: a white-lossing contourless study, a Super Constellation propeller plane high above the clouds, a camel caravan strolling through the desert or the timeless portrait of model Karin Mossberg.

Important stations in post-war European fashion photography are touched upon in the 90 pictures: Starting with the Berlin transit in the 1950s and the haute couture shows of the big Paris fashion houses - like Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin and Chanel - up to prêt-à-porter fashions and the trends of the fashionable 60s, mini skirts and the influence of pop and op art on the fashion collections and above all their photographic staging.

In addition, there are photographs that can be understood as symbols of the respective zeitgeist: A 1947 photograph in which a friend is captured as a silhouette in the door frame through the darkness of a church in Heinebach, the photographer's first 911 Porsche on Fanø beach, the impressive architecture of the Brasilia Cathedral designed by Oscar Niemeyer, and the photograph of Uschi Obermaier staged with inflatable dolls from Pepsi advertising.

The reportage photography of the 50s and 60s of the world traveling photographer is shown as well as his artist and actor portraits: From Martin Kippenberger to Romy Schneider. The 90 photos come from the most diverse contexts imaginable. What they have in common is that the photographer himself has included them in his personal "Best Of" selection. The result is a subjective view of 90 years of F.C. Gundlach, which is in line with the photographer's desire to take his work beyond fashion photography at the age of 90. F.C. Gundlach is still convinced that the boundaries between applied photography and photography as a medium of art are taken far too seriously.

In addition to the 90 photographic works, the exhibition includes a documentary section that reports on F.C. Gundlach's diverse biography in showcases and depicts in pictures and documents his path through life shaped by work, travel and people. It becomes clear how photography has been driving him all his life - from his first photos as a ten-year-old with the Agfa Box self-timer to a look behind the scenes of his legendary fashion photographs and his times as a gallery owner, collector, museum director and founder.

Contemporary Fine Arts
Grolmannstr. 32/33
10623 Berlin