Closeness at a distance.
Albrecht Fuchs: Portraits
Room text
Albrecht Fuchs (*1964 in Bielefeld, lives in Cologne) has been following the international art scene with his camera since the late 1980s. His portraits always show artists and cultural professionals in their personal environment. The space – be it a studio, warehouse, living room, balcony or house entrance – combines with the people portrayed to create a statement. The people portrayed are often photographed calmly and unpretentiously without poses or grand gestures – casually, but with a clear presence.
Fuchs‘ work provides insights into various art scenes around the world: from the Rhineland and Berlin to New York and Los Angeles. How do the people who have shaped artistic life in recent decades present themselves? Around 30 portraits from Fuchs‘ own collection provide an insight into his many years of work. In addition, further works will be presented in a video loop in the lecture theatre and showcases will provide insights into the genesis of individual portraits.
Fuchs‘ photographs are characterised by a particular restraint and simultaneous closeness. His camera creates distance in order to make intimacy visible. His artistic approach is in the tradition of photographers such as August Sander (1876-1964), who organised society into socially typological portraits with his ‘People of the 20th Century’ project, and Hans Namuth (1915-1990), who documented artists such as Jackson Pollock in their creative process. Both were united by the goal of not only depicting people, but also making them comprehensible in their social or artistic context.
However, Fuchs does not focus on types or profession, but concentrates on the moment of pausing, on the silent presence of the person in their private or creative environment. The motif and the composition – and thus above all the person portrayed – take centre stage. Depending on the situation, motif or exhibition venue, he chooses portrait or landscape format, smaller or larger prints. Fuchs breaks away from a serial system of order in favour of greater artistic freedom and a focus on the individual image.
