A retrospective of Belgian photographer Dirk Braeckman in Germany →

Dirk Braeckman, the much-lauded Ghent-based Belgian photographer, opens his first German solo show at Kunsthalle Erfurt. The exhibition is curated by art historian, lecturer and resident curator, Silke Opitz.

Known for his charcoal-toned photography, Braeckman is one of the most important photographers of his generation, both in Belgium and abroad. The exhibition, which just opened yesterday, showcases the development of Braeckman’s signature greyscale style and focuses on texture, lending his images a painterly quality.

The pieces were chosen by Braeckman and Opitz and centers upon the perception and (re-) construction of an image, planned from the beginning as Braeckman’s first survey show in Germany. Rather than simply being a retrospective, the collection engages viewers by offering different modes of perception, situating them within a landscape of often perplexing textures and space. Braeckman features the industrial and man-made, and consequently the human influence upon space: his work often hints at human stories, but above all enacts a repurposing of the physical world.

The show features 30 works covering Braeckman’s last 20 years, with the earliest dating from 1993 and the most recent from 2011. What makes this show particularly unique is the inclusion of one of Braeckman’s rare 16mm films from 1996, as well as a commissioned film for Louis Vuitton featuring Luc Tuymans and Jan Fabre.