The exhibition of renowned Austrian photographer Manfred Willmann
September 26h – October 14th 2022
Spot Gallery, Office for Photography, Čanićeva Street 6, Zagreb
The Spot Gallery and the Office for Photography announce the exhibition by the austrian artist Manfred Willmann. The exhibition opening will be held on 26th September at 7 p.m.
Manfred Willmann, from: “Schwarz und Gold”, 1979.
The exhibition of renowned Austrian photographer Manfred Willmann opens on 26th September, at the Spot Gallery of the Office for Photography in Zagreb. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the artist’s birth, alongside a selection of works from his most noteworthy series “Schwarz und Gold” (1979–1981), “Die Welt ist schön” (1981–1983), “Das Land” (1981–1993) and “Für Christine” (1984–1988), the exhibition will also showcase a selection of his more recent pieces. Willmann’s photography is marked by candour and readily understandable content, as well as documentarist research. In the words of Albert Goldstein, he reveals that which we already know without giving in to pathos, his photographs raising a series of questions about ethics and the terms of our existence, and demonstrating that the grand topics in life may just as brilliantly be rendered in “small” forms.
Willmann’s exhibition is also a chance to look back on his 1981 solo exhibition at the Arhiv TD Gallery, an exposition space for the promotion and research of contemporary photography that was run by Petar Dabac in Ilica 17 in Zagreb. At the time, Willmann’s work was addressed by writer, poet and translator Albert Goldstein, whose text will be reprinted on this occasion. This will be an opportunity to reflect on the important period when – in the context of Forum Stadtpark artists’ association – Camera Austria first initiated its activities, which Willmann founded together with Christine Frisinghelli and Seiichi Furuya, with the aim of promoting contemporary photography as a discursive field and a vital force in the comprehensive development of culture. The cooperation of art organizations from Graz and Zagreb and the fact that they belong to a similar photographic and intellectual circle has been one of the incentives for the recent research and historicization of events in the field of contemporary photography.
The exhibition will remain open until 14th October 2022.The exhibition has been financially supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Kultura Nova Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb.
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