Bernd und Hilla Becher
Basic data
The well-known German artist couple Bernd and Hilla Becher founded the Dusseldorf School of Photography and are today among the most important photographers in post-war history.
- Born: 20 August 1931; 2 September 1934
- Place of birth: Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia; Potsdam, Brandenburg
- Died on: 22 June 2007; 10 October 2015
- Nationality: German
- Studied at: State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
- Teachers: Karl Rössing
- Similar artists: Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Demand
- Era: modern art
Characteristic of their work is the concept of systematically compiling individual photographs of the same industrial building types in the form of tableaus, which not only allow a comparative view, but also fuse aesthetic empiricism with scientific systematics.
Exhibitions
- 26.06.21 - 26.09.21 MODERNE ZEITEN. INDUSTRIE IM BLICK VON MALEREI UND FOTOGRAFIE - Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg.
- 19.06.21 - 03.10.21 MIRRORS AND WINDOWS - Sammlung PHILARA, Düsseldorf.
- 12.03.21 - 08.08.21 Von Becker bis Blume - SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne.
- 12.01.21 - 27.02.21 Multiples, Inc., 1965-1992 – Marian Goodman Gallery, New York City, USA.
- 01.10.20 - 31.10.20 European Month of Photography 2020 - EMOP European Month of Photography Berlin.
- 20.03.20 - 14.06.20 SUBJEKT und OBJEKT. FOTO RHEIN RUHR - Kunsthalle Dusseldorf.
- 13.03.20 - 08.05.20 düsseldorf photo+ 2020 - Dusseldorf.
- 25.05.19 - 01.03.20 gestalten - ein Jahrhundert abstrakte Kunst im Westen - Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Aachen.
- 14.10.2019 - 06.01.2019 Picture Industry: A Provisional History of the Technical Image, 1844–2018 - LUMA Foundation, Arles.
- 04.05.2018 - 16.09.2018 Bernd und Hilla Becher. Bergwerke - Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop.
- 13.05.2018 - 25.06.2017 Passages in Modern Art: 1946 – 1996 - Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas.
- 22.01.2018 - 13.08.2017 Primary Structures - Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt/Main.
- 13.06.2016 - 03.07.2016 Der typologische Blick. Ausstellung für Hilla Becher - Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne.
- 05.02.2016 - 26.03.2016 New York Topographics: Bernd and Hilla Becher, Nicholas Nixon, Thomas Struth - Senior & Shopmaker Gallery, New York.
- 27.10.2015 - 14.02.2016 Camera of Wonders - Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City.
- 25.09.2014 - 11.01.2015 Constructing Worlds: Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age - Barbican Centre, London.
- 22.07.2014 - 18.10.2014 Bernd & Hilla Becher. Photographs, Portfolios, Books - Schirmer / Mosel, Munich.
- 25.10.2013 - 27.04.2014 Foto Europa. 1850 to the Present - Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit.
- 29.09.2013 - 01.12.2014 4th Athens Biennale - Athens Biennale, Athens.
Awards
- 2014: Grand Cultural Award of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland.
- 2004: Award Winner Kultursalon Dusseldorf.
- 2004: Hasselblad Award, Göteborg.
- 2002: Erasmusprize, Praemium Erasmianum, Amsterdam.
- 2001: State Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- 1994: Goslarer Kaiserring.
- 1990: Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale.
- 1985: Cultural Award of the German Society for Photography.
- 1980: Konrad-von-Soest-Prize.
Films
- Die Fotografen Bernd und Hilla Becher. Documentation by Marianne Kapfer, 90min, Germany 2009.
- Man muss sich beeilen, alles verschwindet – Leben und Werk von Bernd und Hilla Becher, Documentation by Marianne Kapfer, 60min, Germany, France, England 2006.
- Hilla und Bernd Becher / Thomas Struth, Documentation by Jean-Pierre Krief, 30min, France 2002.
Literature
-
Bernd & Hilla Becher. Grundformen, Thierry de Duve, Munich 2020.
- Typologien industrieller Bauten. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2017.
- Bernd & Hilla Becher im Gespräch: zwei Interviews, Lothar Schirmer (Publ.), Munich 2016.
- Basic forms = Grundformen. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2014.
- Bernd und Hilla Becher - Fachwerkhäuser, Martina Dobbe, Berlin 2013.
- Steinwerke und Kalköfen. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2012.
- Bergwerke und Hütten. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2010.
- Ruhrblicke. Bernd & Hilla Becher, exhibition catalog, Thomas Weski & Heike Kramer (Publ.), Cologne 2010.
- Zeche Hannover. Bernd & Hilla Becher, exhibition catalog, SK Stiftung Kultur. Photographische Sammlung (Publ.), Munich 2010.
- Getreidesilos. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2006.
- Kühltürme. Bernd & Hilla Becher, picture book, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Munich 2005.
- Was wir tun, ist letztlich Geschichten erzählen...Bernd und Hilla Becher. Eine Einführung in Leben und Werk, Susanne Lange, Munich 2005.
Collections
Australia
- Melbourne - National Gallery of Victoria
Germany
- Aachen - Ludwig Forum
- Baden-Baden - Museum Frieder Burda
- Berlin - Hamburger Bahnhof
- Bonn - Kunstmuseum Bonn
- Essen - Museum Folkwang
- Hamburg - Hamburger Kunsthalle
- Hanover - Sprengel Museum
France
- Bordeaux - Contemporary Art Museum (CAPC)
Japan
Austria
- Vienna - Museum Moderner Kunst MUMOK
Switzerland
- Basel - Kunstmuseum Basel
- Zurich - Kunsthaus Zürich
Spain
- Barcelona - Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)
- Valencia - Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM)
USA
- Chicago - Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
- Los Angeles - Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Los Angeles - The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
- Milwaukee - Milwaukee Art Museum
Weblinks
- Bernd and Hilla Becher Kunstaspekte Exhibition and collection overview.