Kai Hohenfeld – författare

The photographic series Metamorphosis explores the societal, cultural, and scenic dimensions of rural areas as a place to live and create. Taking the Swabian Alps as an example, photographer Rainer Zerback (b. 1958) depicts the far-reaching and successful structural transformation of this region.Zerback, whose photography has for many years focused on the interplay between space, society, and time, in this publication pursues an artistic-analytical approach. His images combine precise documentary observation with a clear aesthetic language. With themes ranging from agriculture, religion and local customs to how people deal with the past and memory, and further to infrastructure, mobility, technology and tourism, it is clear that rural areas are no longer simply a place to retreat to, but are also a key arena for the negotiation of societal processes and future-oriented developments.Zerback’s works are neither mere documentation nor pure aestheticisation. Instead, they open a space within which the ambiguities of rural transformation are condensed: progress and loss, tradition and innovation, proximity and unfamiliarity. As such, the series Metamorphosis is far more than a photographic record–it is a visual statement on the question of how we wish to live in the future in the field of tension between nature, culture, and the economy.Text in English and German.

Without a doubt, Picasso is one of the most important and versatile artistic personalities of the twentieth century. But how does a body of work become so successful, and how does it wind up in major collections, museums, and exhibitions? Not infrequently, it is the courage of individuals who recognize genius in the works and advocate for them in the face of conservatism and criticism. In Picasso’s case, this role in Germany fell to the Bremen art dealer Michael Hertz. His commitment in the post-war period is not only due to Picasso's exhibition at the documenta 3 in 1964, but also to the Kunsthalle Bremen, which has one of the most extensive collections of the artist’s prints. This volume brings together the outstanding printworks, including lithographs, linocuts, and artist’s books. Picasso’s oeuvre of prints can be regarded as a fascinating collection, in which can be read the triumph of the affordable medium in post-war Germany, as well as the dealer's strong commitment.