KICKEN

For forty years Gallery Kicken has been setting standards in the innovative presentation and promotion of the medium photography. Today the gallery is still guided by the mission of its founder, Rudolf Kicken (1947-2014): to convey to an international audience the importance of photography as an art form and, above all, as a visual adventure. One of the gallery’s strengths is its diversity. Also all of the major names in the early artistic photography dating from the beginnings of the medium in the 19th century have been presented in the gallery program. The focus, however, lies in the 20th century, particularly on the German and Czech avante-garde of the twenties and thirties as well as the outstanding masters of the genre, such as Man Ray, Moholy-Nagy, and others. Also the subjective photography of the fifties, West and East German photography, fashion photography, and contemporary conceptual positions are core emphases. The discovery of new or previously overlooked photographic and artistic work is a special area of interest. As a result, the gallery has presented the shining stars of the history of photography as well as anonymous snapshots and exceptional images from functionally oriented photography. The estates managed by the gallery, including those of Erwin Blumenfeld, Ed van der Elsken, Heinrich Kühn, Rudolf Koppitz, Helmar Lerski, Anton Josef Trcka, and Umbo are of particular importance.