Fashion photographer gets 'definitive' retrospective in Berlin

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F.C. Gundlach, who built a reputation between the 1950s and 1990s for his fashion but also his travel and portrait photography, will be honored in a new German retrospective, opening November 20.

On show at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, F.C. Gundlach. The Photographic Work will especially focus on the German photographer's work in the context of magazines, mainly Film und Frau (1951-1965) and Brigitte (1963-1986), next to previously unknown vintage prints and his famous portraits of icons such as Romy Schneider.

"The intention of the exhibition is to present the unique aesthetics of F.C. Gundlach's photography, his roots in photojournalism, his focus on series and sequences, his narrative approach. Furthermore, the exhibition alludes to social and cultural issues over several decades," the organizers said.

Gundlach, who once said that "fashion always is a manifestation of Zeitgeist, perhaps even its best indicator," is known for placing fashion photography into a broader context, often by curating exhibitions. He is considered the most significant German fashion photographer since the collapse of the Third Reich, founded one of the country's first photography galleries, and pioneered technological innovations with the help of his two companies, CC (Creative Color) and PPS (Professional Photo Service). He still teaches photography in Berlin and directs the House of Photography of the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg.

In a film produced by Reiner Holzemer exclusively for the new exhibition, Gundlach will comment on his life's work. The book accompanying the exhibition is published in German and English by Gerhard Steidl and contains around 300 photographs.

Site: berliner-festspiele.de