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10 Things you need to know about Andreas Gursky
A closer look 17 Jul 2013

10 Things you need to know about Andreas Gursky

Andreas Gursky Times Square, New York 1997

Artsper team regularly looks over all works of art of one artist and chooses 10 of them that the team absolutely wants to keep. Even though it is a completely subjective retrospective, this is the occasion for you to discover again the genius of the artist. This week, Artsper is looking into one of the most famous photographers in the world, Andreas Gursky.

1. Andreas Gursky was born on January 15th, 1955 at Leipzig, Germany.

Andreas Gursky
Andreas Gusky in the 80’s

2. Gursky was trained and influenced by a couple of German photographers, Hilla and Bernd Becher, well-known for their photographs of industrial installations.

Hilla and Bernd Becher
photography by Hilla and Bernd Becher

3.Today, he is one of the most famous photographers in the world and his photos are among the most expensive.

Andreas Gursky, Shanghai
Andreas Gursky, Shanghai, 2000

4. The best qualificative to define Gursky’s work is “breathtaking”. Gursky takes photos of big spaces where human crowds or items accumulation that gives us dizziness.

Andreas Gursky, Kuwait Stock Exchange
Andreas Gursky, Kuweit Stock Exchange, 2007

5. 99 Cent II Diptych (2001) was sold in 2007 for 3,3 millions of dollars while Rhein II (1999) reached 4,3 millions of dollars in 2011 becoming the most expensive photograph of all times.

Andreas Gursky, The Rhine
Andreas Gursky, The Rhine II, 1999
Andreas Gursy, 99 Cent II Diptychon
Andreas Gursky, 99-Cent-II-Diptychon, 2001

6. Each of his photographs is a technical exploit with exceptional and huge quality (minimum 3m x 2m).

Andreas Gursky, Chicago Board of Trade, 1999
Andreas Gursky, Chicago Board of Trade, 1999

7. Sometimes, Gursky uses computer means to retouch and gather several photos.

Andreas Gursky, Bahrein
Andreas Gursky, Bhareïn, 2005

8. He thinks about his photos before taking them and work with his lens like a painter with his canvas.

Andreas Gursky, Mercedes Rastatt
Andreas Gursky, Mercedes Rastatt, 1993

9.Most of his photos are published in six copies.

Andreas Gursky, Ratingen Swimming Pool
Andreas Gursky, Ratingen Swimming Pool, 1997

10. Gursky is represented by the famous galleries Sprüth Magers and Matthew Marks.




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