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 Becher, Bernd and Hilla 
Germany

Watertowers, 1988

Black and white photograph on board;
117 x 391 cm
Conceptualism

UID 102-46



Biography

Bernd and Hilla Becher (1931-) (1934-) German artists, living in Düsseldorf. Bernd and Hilla Becher photograph industrial architecture - from the family mine to the corporate steel mill - constructed for, and sometimes left behind, by industry. Although Bernd first studied painting and Hilla photography, they shared a fascination with this subject. In 1959, they realized their common interest after meeting at an advertising agency in Düsseldorf, where they both worked, and they marry in 1961, Hilla later became the first instructor in photography at the Staatlichen Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf; she was subsequently joined there by her husband. They have dramatically influenced their students, some of whom are now recognized in their own right, including Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, and Thomas Struth. Over the last three decades, a selection of images from several series have been published in book form including Water Towers, Blast Furnaces, Pennsylvania Mine Tipples, Gas Tanks, and in 1995, Industrial Facades. The Bechers' photographs are exhibited individually, but more commonly in groupings that they specifically arrange. It is their organization of the thousands of images into typologies that encourages further attention to the subtlety and variation of like structures. Each print is always the same size, and each is framed similarly. Retrospectives: 1975, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, 1981, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Participated in "Documenta 6", in 1977 and in Photography and Art, 1946-86, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, among others. Live in Düsseldorf.



Exhibitions

Photography in The Berardo Collection
Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo (SMAM-CB), Portugal
01-02-2005 ~ 30-04-2005

Building/Unbuilding/Inhabit - works of The Berardo Collection
Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), Portugal
29-04-2005 ~ 15-01-2006

Here and Now: On Minimal Art in The Berardo Collection
Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo (SMAM-CB), Portugal
18-10-2003 ~ 22-02-2004

The Berardo Collection
Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo (SMAM-CB), Portugal
17-05-1997 ~ 31-08-1997

Face - a - Face
Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo (SMAM-CB), Portugal
02-10-2001 ~ 30-04-2001

Novas Salas Pop, Fluxus, Foto-Realismo
Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo (SMAM-CB), Portugal
09-06-1997 ~ 28-02-1998

3D - The Berardo Collection at the Portugeuse Parlement
Assembleia da República, Portugal
17-04-2007 ~ 20-08-2007

Fragmentos Arte Contemporânea na Colecção Berardo
MACE, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Elvas, Portugal
24-09-2010 ~ 23-01-2011

Tudo o que é Sólido
Museu Colecção Berardo, Portugal
07-06-2010 ~ 12-09-2010


Bibliography

Here and Now: On Minimal Art in The Berardo Collection, 2003
Published by Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo
ISBN 972990300X

The Berardo Collection – Sintra Museum of Modern Art, 1996
Published by Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna - Colecção Berardo
ISBN 9729739105







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