Andreas Gursky Body of Work
Untitled XIII, 2002
Artist statement
The beholder of the 3.06 metre high and 2.22 metre wide work‚ Ohne Titel XIII’ (2002) is confronted with an apparently infinite landscape of garbage. It’s the garbage dump in Chimalhuacán, Mexico City, which extends up to the horizon in this panel format.
From a distance the work appears abstract, and, with its colourful spots, recalls the drippings of the action paintings by Jackson Pollock. In approaching, details become noticeable: logos give away the former content of the empty cans and cardboard boxes and at the same time testify the power of the global markets that allow Pepsi and Coke bottles to await their decomposition at garbage dumps all over the world.
The large format and the almost endless variety of details pull the beholder deeper into the picture. Like an archaeologist, Gursky examines the surface of the garbage to receive further information on the current civilization. All of a sudden he recognizes that he is not alone – beneath the horizon line other seekers become visible. They are searching the garbage for usable things that may ensure their livelihood and nourish their families.
The garbage covers nearly every part of the photograph, plastic bags are floating above the scenery, almost frozen in the air – this work is a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional world landscape. Andreas Gursky explains it in this context: “It’s world-garbage” and proves himself as a photographer of globalization.
About the photographer
1955, Leipzig, Germany
German
Dusseldorf, Germany
About Andreas Gursky
1978-1981 Folkwangschule (GHS), Essen
1981-1987 Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf (studied with Bernd Becher)
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
- Andreas Gursky: Werke 1980 – 2008, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2009
- Andreas Gursky: Werke 1980 – 2008, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2009
- Retrospektive 1984-2007 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2008
- Andreas Gursky: Werke 1980 – 2008, Museum Haus Esters Haus Lange, Krefeld, 2008
- Andreas Gursky. Kaiserringträger 2008, Mönchehaus-Museum für moderne Kunst, Goslar, 2008
- Cocoon / Frankfurt…, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, 2008
- ArchiTektur Institut Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, 2008
- Retrospektive 1984-2007, Ekaterina Foundation, Moscow, 2008
- Retrospektive 1984-2007 Haus der Kunst, Munich; Istanbul Modern, 2007
- 2007: Sharjah Art Museum; Kunstmuseum Basel; Galerie Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers, London; White Cube, London
- 2004: Matthew Marks Gallery, New York; Galerie Monika Sprüth Philomene Magers, Cologne, Germany
- 2001: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Earth shortlist
Nadav Kander, Yangtze, The Long River, 2006-2007
Darren Almond, Fullmoon, 1998-2010
Christopher Anderson, Capitolio, 2004-2009
Sammy Baloji, Memory, 2006
Edward Burtynsky, Quarries, 1991-2006
Andreas Gursky, Body of Work, 2002
Ed Kashi, Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta, 2004-2006
Naoya Hatakeyama, Blast, 1995-2010
Abbas Kowsari, Shade of Earth, 2007-2008
Yao Lu, New Mountain and Water, 2007
Edgar Martins, The Diminishing Present, 2005-2008
Chris Steele-Perkins, Mount Fuji, 2000-2001