Bernd & Hilla Becher
Jul 15 – Nov 6, 2022

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Tower, Verviers, Belgium

The renowned German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher (1931–2007; 1934–2015) changed the course of late twentieth-century photography. Working as a rare artist couple, they focused on a single subject: the disappearing industrial architecture of Western Europe and North America that fueled the modern era. Their seemingly objective style recalled nineteenth- and early twentieth-century precedents but also resonated with the serial approach of contemporary Minimalism and Conceptual art. Equally significant, it challenged the perceived gap between documentary and fine-art photography.

 

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Gas Tank, Wesseling / Cologne, Germany

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Lime Kiln, Brielle, Netherlands

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Chemical Factory, Wesseling / Cologne, Germany

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Blast Furnace, Youngstown, Ohio, United States

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Gravel Plant, Günzburg, Germany

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Industrial Forms

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Collective Portrait: Objects with Different Functions, Grube Anna, Alsdorf / Aachen

Using a large-format view camera, the Bechers methodically recorded blast furnaces, winding towers, grain silos, cooling towers, and gas tanks with precision, elegance, and passion. Their rigorous, standardized practice allowed for comparative analyses of structures that they exhibited in grids of between four and thirty photographs. They described these formal arrangements as “typologies” and the buildings themselves as “anonymous sculpture.”

This posthumous retrospective celebrates the Bechers’ remarkable achievement and is the first ever organized with full access to the artists’ personal collection of working materials and their comprehensive archive.

 

Bernd Becher, Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

Hilla Becher, [Pine Needle Tuft]

Hilla Becher, [Mountain Elm Leaf]

Hilla Becher, [Metal Forms]

Bernd Becher, Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

Bernd Becher, Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

Bernd Becher, Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers

Bernd Becher, Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Water Towers

The exhibition is made possible by Joyce Frank Menschel, the Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation, the Edward John & Patricia Rosenwald Foundation, and Linda Macklowe.

It is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in association with Studio Bernd & Hilla Becher and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur.

The catalogue is made possible by the Mary C. and James W. Fosburgh Publications Fund.

Additional support is provided by the Mellon Foundation.

 

Bernd & Hilla Becher
July 15 – November 6, 2022 / The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Visit the exhibition page >

Beyond Fashion
Mar 11 – Jun 4, 2023
The photographers brought together in the exhibition have looked anew at the potential of fashion photography creating an imagery...
+
Seattle International Film Festival
May 11–21, 2023
SIFF has always been a space for discovery and this year's theme celebrates just that, filmmakers and communities from...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .139
Cinco de Mayo
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire. Bobby Sands dies of hunger strike in Prison. Christopher Columbus lands...
+
World Press Photo 2023
Winners & Exhibitions Announced
Representing major events and moments overlooked by the mainstream media in 2022, the 2023 World Press Photo Contest winners...
+
FUTURES / Artists Nominated
Emerging Artists 2023
The new emerging artists selected for 2023 has been announced. The Futures platform members have selected a promising group...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .138
Beauty Is Not Enough
You can no longer quiet me with the redness of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know....
+
Sony World Photography Awards 2023
WINNERS & FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers and artists working in photography. The Awards are regarded...
+
Nicole Eisenman. What Happened
Mar 24 – Sep 10, 2023
Nicole Eisenman, What Happened surveys the entire spectrum of the artist’s three decades of work in painting and sculpture,...
+
Beyond Fashion
Mar 11 – Jun 4, 2023
The photographers brought together in the exhibition have looked anew at the potential of fashion photography creating an imagery...
+
Seattle International Film Festival
May 11–21, 2023
SIFF has always been a space for discovery and this year's theme celebrates just that, filmmakers and communities from...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .139
Cinco de Mayo
Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire. Bobby Sands dies of hunger strike in Prison. Christopher Columbus lands...
+
World Press Photo 2023
Winners & Exhibitions Announced
Representing major events and moments overlooked by the mainstream media in 2022, the 2023 World Press Photo Contest winners...
+
FUTURES / Artists Nominated
Emerging Artists 2023
The new emerging artists selected for 2023 has been announced. The Futures platform members have selected a promising group...
+
ARTPIL / Prescription .138
Beauty Is Not Enough
You can no longer quiet me with the redness of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know....
+
Sony World Photography Awards 2023
WINNERS & FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers and artists working in photography. The Awards are regarded...
+
Nicole Eisenman. What Happened
Mar 24 – Sep 10, 2023
Nicole Eisenman, What Happened surveys the entire spectrum of the artist’s three decades of work in painting and sculpture,...
+