Berlin Photo Week 2021
Berlin Photo Week kicked off this year with another strong and eclectic line up. The primary location at the Haubentaucher in Friedrichshain opened on the 27th and ran until the 29th of August, while several satellite exhibitions located throughout the city are open for the month of September.
The Haubentaucher location was an immersive experience in an urban site showcasing the works of renowned photographers in a nonconventional way. Highlights of BPW were the large haunting portraits by Bruce Gilden which were presented by Leica, and Magnum photographer Thomas Hoepker’s depiction of children living in the shadows of the Berlin wall, titled “Mauerkinder.”
The most memorable exhibition for the SUMO team was certainly “A Timeless Allure” - The Photographic Art of George Hoyningen-Huene (1900-1968), which was presented at Grisebach in the district of Charlottenburg.
Huene (as he was simply known) worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair during the golden age of couture, and later went on to work in and photograph Hollywood during the 1940s. Huene photographed the likes of Lee Miller, Katherine Hepburn, and Rita Hayworth, and was close friends with Man Ray, Schiaparelli, and Horst P. Horst (who is portrayed alongside Miller in one of Huene’s most famous photographs, “The Divers”).
A pioneering photographer, Huene brought his unique vision and approach to photography, combining elements of neoclassicism and surrealism with the glamour of the time. He created truly beautiful and unique works which often echo hints of classical painting. Huene’s ability to capture fabric with his lens illustrated perfectly how the bias cut gowns of the day draped along the body, and he photographed the works of Chanel, Balenciaga, and Schiaparelli. The exhibition takes a look at different phases in his artistic life - from the couture world of Paris in the 1920s to his work as a colour coordinator in Hollywood during the 1940s - but also his love of capturing light and shadow on his adventures throughout countries such as Egypt and Greece.
The exhibition is a collaboration between the George Hoyningen-Huene Archives, Villa Grisebach, and Berlin Photo Week, directed by Benjamin Jaeger and curated by Susanna Brown. It runs until September 25th at the beautiful Grisebach on Fasanenstrasse, Berlin.
Berlin Photo Week
26th August - 3rd September 2021
A Timeless Allure - The Photographic Art of George Hoyningen-Huene
Grisebach, Fasanenstrasse 25, 10719, Berlin
Until 25th September, 2021
Written by Alana Richards @alanarichardsstudio