Neue Frau, Neues Sehen. Die Bauhaus-Fotografinnen

There have been outstanding female photographers since the invention of photography in the early 19th century. Many of them were pioneers in this field. They experimented with photographic and creative techniques and explored the limits of the new medium. The Bauhaus photographers were no exception. They observed their surroundings through the camera lens and captured numerous motifs, sometimes from new and unusual perspectives. The spectrum of their artistic work ranges from representational portrait and architectural photography to abstract experimental photography.

The exhibition at the Museum für Fotografie shows around 300 photographs from the collection of the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung, Berlin. The motifs are known to many today, but their creators are only known to a few. With this exhibition, the Bauhaus-Archiv is now paying tribute to the importance of these artists and their photographic work for the first time. The photographs of the Bauhaus women are complemented by works by artists from the Institute of Design in Chicago (New Bauhaus), the successor institution to the Bauhaus in the USA.

Even in the 21st century, female artists are exploring photography in a variety of ways. Like the Bauhaus photographers, they also try to capture their present in photographic images and question the conventional forms of the medium. For the exhibition, the Bauhaus Archive has invited the three contemporary artists Kalinka Gieseler, Caroline Kynast and Sinta Werner to enter into a dialog with the historical positions with their works.

The artists in the exhibition:
Gertrud Arndt, Ellen Auerbach, Irene Bayer, Lotte Beese, Irena Blühovà, Marianne Brandt, Lotte Gerson-Collein, Barbara Crane (New Bauhaus), Margarete Dambeck-Keller, Charlotte Grunert, Ise Gropius, Toni von Haken-Schrammen, Florence Henri, Catherine Hinkle (New Bauhaus), Irene Hoffmann, Hilde Hubbuch, Grit Kallin-Fischer, Judit Kárász, Ivana Meller-Tomljenovic, Etel Mittag-Fodor, Lucia Moholy, Lony Neumann, Ricarda Schwerin, Ré Soupault, Grete Stern, Elsa Thiemann, Else Tholstrup (New Bauhaus), Mili Thompson (New Bauhaus), Edith Tudor-Hart

Contemporary positions:
Kalinka Gieseler, kalinka-gieseler.de
Caroline Kynast, studiocarolinekynast.com
Sinta Werner, sintawerner.net