Wolfgang Tillmans was born 1968 in Remscheid/Germany and currently lives/works in Berlin & London. He was a full-time professor for interdisciplinary art from 2003 to 2009 and is presently a honorary professor at the Städelschule. Since 2006 he runs the exhibition space „Between Bridges“ in London.

Tillmans first attracted attention at the beginning of the 1990s, with his apparently mundane pictures of subjects taken from his own surroundings. After studying in Britain, he published photographs in prominent publications such as i-D, Spex and Interview. Today, these pictures are considered trendsetting for the young generation of the 1990s, and raise questions about subcultures and sexual identities. By turning everyday situations into almost monumental images, Tillmans very strikingly captured the spirit of the times. It soon became evident that his pictures renegotiate photographic conventions and reflect contemporary currents related to culture and identity. Since then, Tillmans has continued his in-depth investigations, expanding the the realm of photography and redefining the very medium as an artform.

Recently Tillmans' art has taken a number of different directions, revolving around various issues, everything from still lifes and modern landscapes to his lifelong interest in astronomy and the night sky. He has also taken his in-depth exploration of abstract photography even further. Tillmans’ abstract images are more closley related to the painterly tradition and he researches photography as a self-reflexive medium. Abstract images, such as Freischwimmer and Silver, are made in the darkroom, striking a balance between the deliberate and chance. In recent years, Tillmans has been travelling the world taking photographs with the general title Neue Welt. These pictures relate to the new world of markets and trade, to politics and economics, and to the hypermodern. The title also refers to the new digital camera that Wolfgang used to take these pictures, which captures and documents more detail than we can perceive with the naked eye.

In the year 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize, the first non-British artist and the first photographer to receive the prize.
In this talk Wolfgang Tillmans will present work he made since 2009, when his time of regular teaching at Städelschule ended.

Die Veranstaltung findet in englischer Sprache statt. Im Anschluss findet ein von den Studierenden ausgerichteter Umtrunk in der Mensa statt.

Ort und Zeit der Veranstaltung: Mittwoch, 14. November 2012, 19 Uhr, Lichthalle

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