Exhibition
Wolfgang Tillmans. Lighter. New works, works from the Nationalgalerie, the Friedrich Christian FlickCollection in Hamburger Bahnhof, and loans
March 21, 2008 – August 31, 2008
The Flick Collection is delighted to present a large-scale, solo exhibition featuring the work of Wolfgang Tillmans, one of Germany’s premier fine-art photographers. Exhibited in the Hamburger Bahnhof, ‘Lighter; New Works’ offers the first comprehensive overview of Tillmans’ complex oeuvre seen in Berlin to date.
On view amongst other works are the legendary portraits, still lifes, urban views and landscapes through which Tillmans shaped the sensibility of the 1990s. A photographer who immediately defies categorization, Tillman’s extensive body of work challenged the photographic medium to undergo renewed transformation.
Providing an additional focus to this exhibition, The Flick Collection is pleased to showcase a selection of Tillman’s abstract works, which continue to expand both the artist’s visual cosmos and vocabulary. The space-filling, atmospheric images of the "Freischwimmer" (Swimming to Freedom) series, along with the "Lighter" and "Paper Drop" studies, evoke a seemingly sculptural quality. Focusing entirely on the magical qualities of paper, these works, until now, have never been seen in Germany as an ensemble.
Encompassing more than 200 works from the period 1986 to 2008, the Flick Collection also showcases pivotal pieces such as the early photocopy works, (1988-1990) the "Turner Prize" Room (2000) and the elaborate table installation "Truth Study Center." (2005-2007) Unprecedented in its thoroughness, the exhibition presents a liberated, thoughtful retrospective of one of photography’s key figures in the twenty-first century.