Already in the early 1960s, Bernd & Hilla Becher have chosen the functional buildings of the mining and steel industry central motifs in their photographic work. Their concern went far beyond documenting the mining and smelting plants, which often ceased to exist shortly afterwards. When they held their first solo exhibition at Konrad Fischer in 1970 the Bechers named these technical buildings Anonymous Sculptures: 'They are essentially buildings in which anonymity is recognisable as a stylistic principle. Their peculiarities were not created despite, but because of the lack of design.' The strict system developed by the Düsseldorf-based artist couple followed their encyclopaedic approach and established the idea of photography as conceptual art.
Today, the Konrad Fischer Galerie is very glad to look back on over 50 years of trusting and constructive collaboration with Bernd & Hilla Becher and, as a successor, the Estate in the person of Max Becher. We are delighted to present the current exhibition, which focusses on four groups of motifs.
The lower floor is dedicated to post-war residential buildings in the Ruhr region. Here in particular, numerous residential buildings were destroyed during the war, the new houses were simple, mostly without decoration, their storey height considerably lower than the pre-war buildings. A speciality in the work of Bernd & Hilla Becher is the 8-part series of the house at Sternbuschweg 362 in Duisburg, created in 1972. While the surrounding area had been destroyed during the war or shortly afterwards, the multi-storey pre-war residential building with its adjoining side wing remained standing as a solitaire. The eight photographs circle the building at 45° angles.
The water tower was described by the Bechers as an 'elevated water tank on a tower-like base'. It serves as a storage medium within a complex system for the production and supply of drinking water. The functional requirements allow for a wide variety of architectural designs, the strong regional character of which can be seen in the exhibited water tower motifs from England, Belgium, France and the Ruhr region.
The upper floor is dedicated to the details of industrial facilities. A 12-part typology and a series of individual photographs, views from below of blast furnaces, show the countless supply lines and pipes that run through the plants, sometimes in parallel, sometimes as an almost untangled web. Other works show conveyor belt transfers from the Hannover colliery in Bochum, where the extracted coal is transferred from one conveyor belt to another.
The grain silos from the USA and France differ significantly in size. While the silos in the extensive grain-growing regions of the United States are lined up with a large number of pipes, much smaller buildings are also used as storage facilities in France.
Bernd (1931-2007) and Hilla Becher (1934-2015) lived and worked in Düsseldorf. Selected solo exhibitions included at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2022), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2022), the National Museum Cardiff, Wales (2019), the Josef Albers Museum, Quadrat Bottrop (2018), the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne (2016, 2013, 2010, 2006), the Nationalgalerie Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2005), the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2004), the K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2003) and at the 44th Venice Biennale (1990). Significant group exhibitions include at the Barbican Art Gallery, London (2014), the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2014, 2004), the MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2013), the Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010), the Nationalgalerie Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2008), The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2005),
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2004), Tate Modern, London (2004, 2003) and at Documenta XI, VII, VI and V, Kassel (2002, 1982, 1977, 1972).
On 4 September 2025, the Photographic Collection, SK Foundation in Cologne will open the exhibition: Bernd & Hilla Becher - History of a Method.
