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Michael Schmidt, Irgendwo, 2001-2004, Gelatin silver print, 32.35 x 24.5 cm, Ed. 5 of 6 + 1 AP.

Galerie Nordenhake
Hudiksvallsgatan 8
+46 8 21 18 92
Stockholm
Michael Schmidt
November 8-
December 8, 2007

Michael Schmidt is one of Germany's most important post-war social documentary photographers. Schmidt, born in 1945, is self-taught and has exhibited widely in the international sphere, including two solo shows at MoMA, New York, where he also has a major upcoming retrospective.

Schmidt first gained attention in 1984 with Berlin — Kreuzberg, a series of photographs of the neighborhood where he lives. Many of his works explore the architecture of urban landscapes, depicting apartment blocks, office buildings, and inhabitants in an austere documentary style.

The meticulously composed black and white photographs, with their rich nuances, come from a number of different series, including Irgendwo, Berlin – Kreuzberg, Waffenruhe, Stadtbilder, and Berlin nach 1945. Typically Schmidt conflates architectural and landscape photographs with portraits and shots of seemingly unimportant details. Through the arrangement in groups — the interplay and dialogue between the images — individual images acquire distinct meaning and the relation between spatial environment and individual biography comes into view.

Schmidt has exhibited internationally in Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art (2006), Lindenau — Museum, Altenburg (2006), National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2005), Kunstverein Hanover (2005), Tate Modern (2003), MoMA (solo exhibition, 1996 and 1988, group, 2001 and 2000), Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2001) and Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2000). Schmidt has published several books. Available are: Irgendwo, Köln 2005; Berlin nach 45, Göttingen 2005; Frauen, Köln 2000; Landschaft — Waffenruhe — Selbst — Menschenbilder (Ausschnitte), Münster 1998 und EIN-HEIT, Berlin 1996.