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Biography

For nearly fifty years, Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed the industrial architecture of Western Europe, creating an archive of basic forms of the industrial era. Rendered with absolute precision in large format, medium-contrast gelatin silver prints, each structure is centered against a cloudless sky, filling the picture frame. The Bechers tended to arrange their photographs in grids or sequence them in monographs, a standardized presentation that facilitates a comparative analysis of form. Influenced by the objectivity of photographic practices between the two World Wars and embraced by practitioners of Minimalist and Conceptual art in the 1960s and 1970s, the systematic nature of their approach has become a recognizable style.



Born in Siegen in 1931, Bernd Becher studied painting and lithography at the State Art Academy in Stuttgart in the mid-1950s. Hilla Wobeser, born in Potsdam in 1934, trained and apprenticed as a commercial photographer. The two met in 1959 in Düsseldorf, where both attended the Art Academy. Together they began to photograph the industrial sites familiar to Bernd from his childhood. They married two years later. For the next four and a half decades, they collaborated on all aspects of their self-assigned project, documenting lime kilns, cooling towers, blast furnaces, winding towers, water towers, gas tanks, silos, and other industrial structures throughout Western Europe. Organizing prints into categories according to function, they emphasized a typological examination of structural form as a reflection of function in both exhibition and book formats.



Not least of the Bechers' legacy is their lasting influence on subsequent generations of artists who use the photographic medium today, most notably the students taught by Bernd Becher at the Düsseldorf Art Academy between 1976 and 1996. Among his most renowned students are Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, and Thomas Struth.

Chronology

2014

August Sander / Bernd and Hilla Becher: A Dialogue, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, NY

2012

Bernd and Hilla Becher, Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Coal Mines, Steel Mills, Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague

2011

Bergwerke und Hütten – Industrielandschaften, Fotomuseum Winterthur

2010

Water Towers, Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany


Bernd und Hilla Becher Bergwerke und Hütten, Josef Albers Museum. Quadrat Bottrop

Zeche Hannover - Photographien aus dem Ruhrgebiet


Bernd und Hilla Becher. Bergwerke und Hütten, RUHR 2010, Essen

2009

Bernd & Hilla Becher, Museo Morandi, Bologna


Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin

2008

Bernd and Hilla Becher: Landscape/Typology, the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Bernd and Hilla Becher: Basic Forms, Getty Museum, Los Angeles

2007

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Bernd und Hilla Becher: Fachwerkhäuser Industrielandschaften

Getreidesilos Schirmer/Mosel Showroom, München

2006

Typologies anciennes, Musée des Arts Contemporains, Hornu, Belgium

Bernd und Hilla Becher - Zeche Concordia, SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne, Germany

2005

Bernd und Hilla Becher - Typologien industrieller Bauten, Museum für Fotografie imHamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany


Basic Forms of Industrial Buildings - Bernd & Hilla Becher, Kunsthallen BrandtsKlædefabrik (Brandts Klædefabrik), Odense, Denmark

Bernd & Hilla Becher - The Basic Shapes of Industrial Building, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo, Norway

2004

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

"Bernd and Hilla Becher - 2004 Hasselblad Award Winner", Hasselblad Center,Göteborg, Schweden

Bernd & Hilla Becher - Typologien industrieller Bauten, HDK - Haus der Kunst – Munich, Germany

Early Works, Andre Simoens Gallery, Knokke-Zoute, Belgium

2003

"Bernd & Hilla Becher - Typologien industrieller Bauten", Photographic Collection/SKStiftung Kultur

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in the house of the estates, Dusseldorf

2002

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

“Industriële Structuren werk van Bernd & Hilla Becher”, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam,Huis Marseille, Amsterdam and Noordbrabants, Hertogenbosch

2001

“Field Trips”, Museu de Arte Comtemporânea de Serralves, Porto, Portugal (with Robert Smithson)

1999

Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY

SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne, Germany

1996

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY

1995

Sonnabend Gallery, NY

Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

1994

"Typologies", Ydessa Hendeles Foundation, Toronto, Canada

"Paul Strand, Bernd and Hilla Becher: Typologies", Gerald Peters

Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Centre d'Art Contemporain, Fribourg, Switzerland

Westfalisches Landesmuseum, Muenster, Germany

1993

Sonnabend Gallery, NY

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

1992

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Kamakura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

1991

Galerie Max Hetzler, Cologne, Germany

Ascan Crone, Hamburg, Germany

Primo Piano, Rome, Italy

Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Galerie Pierre Huber, Geneva, Switzerland

1990

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Achenbach, Frankurt, West Germany

"Typologies", XLIV Venice Biennial, Venice; Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH

1989

Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

"American Buildings and Others", Urbi et Orbi Galerie, Paris, FranceDIA Art Foundation, New York

Galerie Vega, Luettich (Liege), Belgium

1988

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

"Hauser", Bei Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf

"Watertowers", Kunstverein Munich, Munich, West Germany

Magasin, Centre National D'Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels

1986

Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

Kamakura Gallery, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

"Bernd und Hilla Becher - Bergwerke", Architekturmuseum in Basel

1985

Museum Folkwang Essen, Essen, Germany

ARC/Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris

Castello di Rivoli, Torino, Italy

Musee d'Art Moderne, Liege, Belgium

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1983

Freedman Gallery, Reading, PA

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1982

Carol Taylor, Dallas, Texas

1981

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Kunstverein, Seigen, WG

Retrospective Exhibition: Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven

1980

Fa chhochschule und Hochschule fur Bildende Kanste, Hamburg,

WG Galerie Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, Germany

Galerie Vega, Liege, Belgium

Westfalisches Landesmuseum, Muenster, Germany

1979

Galerie Sonnabend, Paris

Kunstbibliothek Tranegarden, Kopenhagen

Galleria Massimo Valsecchi, Milan, Italy

Kunstraum, Munchen, Germany

Gallerie Schweinebraden, Berlin, DDR

1978

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Von Der Heidt Museum, Wuppertal

1977

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Ink, Crex Collection, Zurich, Switzerland

Galerie Tanit, Munchen, Germany

1976

Kunsthalle Tubingen, Germany

Galerie Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, Germany

Galleria Massimo Valsecchi, Milano

Galleria Forma, Genova, Italy

Galerie Presig, Basel, Switzerland

1974-75

Arts Council of Great Britain, London, England

1975

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Galerie Sonnabend, Paris, France

Galleria Alessandra Castelli, Milan, Italy

Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, WG

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1974

La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, CA; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut

Kabinett fur aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven, WG

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1973

Galerie Sonnabend, Paris, France

Gallery d, Brussels, Belgium

Konrad Fischer Gallery, Dusseldorf, WG

Galeria Forma, Genova, Italy

Galleria Lucio Amelio, Naples, Italy

1972

Sonnabend Gallery, New York

Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont

International Museum of Photography, Rochester

New York Nigel Greenwood Gallery, London, England

1971

Kabinett fur aktuelle Kunst, Bremerhaven, WG; Gegenverkehr, Aachen, WG

1970

Stadtisches Museum, Ulm, WG

Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden

Galerie Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, WG

1969

Stadtisches Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, WG

1968

Institut Prof. K. Wachsman, Los Angeles; California Goethe Center, San Francisco, CA

Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Galerie Ruth Nohl, Seigen, WG

Stadtisches Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach, Germany

1967

Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, West Germany; Staatlisches Museum fur angewandteKunst, Munich, WG Technische Hocschule, Karlsruhe, WG

Bergbaumseum, Bochum, WG

Kunstakademie, Copenhagen, Denmark

1966

Staatliche Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf, West Germany

1965

Galerie Pro, Bad Godesberg, Germany

1963

Galerie Ruth Nohl, Seigen, West Germany

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2013 “Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New,” Museum of Modern Art, NY

2011 “De-Natured: German Art from Joseph Beuys to Martin Kippenberger,”

Aukland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill, NC

2010

"Der Westen leuchtet", Kunstmuseum Bonn
"

New Topographics - Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape", San Francisco Museum of Modern Art


"Events of the Self: Portraiture and Social Identity", The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm


"Sidewalk Deli", Kunstverein Hamburg


"La Revanche de L´archive Photographique", Centre de la Photographie, Genf


"Haunted - Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance", Guggenheim Museum - New York


"BRAVE NEW WORLD - From the perspective of Mudam Collection", Musée d´Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxemburg


"Realismus - das Abenteuer der Wirklichkeit. Courbet - Hopper - Gursky", Kunsthalle Emden

2009 “Art of Two Germanys / Cold War Cultures 1945-1989,” Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin/Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg, Germany

“1968: Die große Unschuld,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany

Bernd und Hilla Becher / Tobias Hantmann Konrad Fischer Galerie, Berlin


Art of Two Germanys/Cold War Cultures Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin


Kunst und Kalter Krieg – Deutsche Positionen 1945-1989 Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg


Objectivités - La photographie à Düsseldorf Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

2008

“Second Thoughts,” The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hundson, NY

“Die Hande der Kunst,” MARTa Herford, Herford

“Made in Munich,” Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany

Sichtbarwerden - Fotografische Werke Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin


Carl Andre, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Sol Lewitt, Bridget Riley Karsten Schubert, London

2007

“20 ans du Musee d'Art Moderne - L'art apres 1960 dans les collections,” Musee d'Art moderne de Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne

"Die Kunst zu sammeln", Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf


German Photography Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


Conceptual Photograpy 1964-1989 Zwirner & Wirth - New York


Appearance / Disappearance Bunkier Stzuki, Krakau

2006

“Dusseldorf School of Photography and Contemporary Western Masters,” Hannart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, SAR

"Más de lo que los ojos pueden ver", Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey - MARCO, Monterrey, Mexiko
"Shifting Terrain. Contemporary Landscape Photography", The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, USA
"Why Pictures Now - Fotografie, Film, Video heute", MUMOK, Vienna, Austria

2005

“Logical Conclusions: 40 Years of Rule-Based Art,” PaceWildenstein, NY

"Frontal 7, Düsseldorf Fotografie", 7th International Photographic Triennial in Tampere, Finland


"Künstlerische Konzepte als Drucksache Katalog Künstlerbuch Objektbuch Postkarte Plakat", 
Galerie M + R Fricke, Berlin, Germany


"Bernhard Fuchs", Landesgalerie am Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseum, Linz, Österreich


"German Contemporary Photography - Zwischen Wirklichkeit und Bild", The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan


"Summer Exhibition 2005", Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum CS), Amsterdam, 
Niederlande


"International Prints (Multiple Box Sydney)", Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australien


"Sammlung 2005 - Neupräsentation der erweiterten Sammlung," K21 KUNSTSAMMLUNG NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN - im Ständehaus, Düsseldorf, Deutschland


"Bilanz in zwei Akten - Sammlung Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung",
 Kunstverein Hannover, Hannover, Deutschland


"The Last Picture Show - Artists using Photography 1960-1982",
 Miami Art Central, Miami, FL, USA

2004

“Visions of America: Contemporary Art from the Essl Collection and the Sonnabend Collection, New York”; Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuberg, Vienna

"Attraversare Genova. Percorsi e linguaggi internazionali del "One on One - Installations from the collection (1968-1988)", Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Niederlande contemporaneo.", Villa Croce Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Genua, Italien


"L´Ombre du temps", Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, Frankreich


"In Focus - Themes in Photography", Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, USA


"Friedrich Christian Flick Collection im Hamburger Bahnhof", Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Deutschland


"German Art - Deutsche Kunst aus amerikanischer Sicht", Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt/Main, Deutschland


"Fotografía alemana contemporánea - Distancia y Proximidad", MAMBA - Museo de Arte Moderno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentinien


"Paisaje y Memoria", Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spanien


"Beyond Geometry - Experiments in Form 1940s?70s", Los Angeles County Museum of Art - LACMA, Los Angeles, CA, USA


"Love / Hate. From Magritte to Cattelan.", Villa Manin. Centro d'arte contemporanea, Passariano (UD), Italien


"Thomas Struth - Stephen Shore", Pinakothek der Moderne (Kunstareal München), München, Deutschland


"Von Körpern und anderen Dingen... - Deutsche Fotografie im 20. Jahrhundert", Museum Bochum, Bochum, Deutschland


"Neue Editionen", Edition Schellmann, München, Deutschland


"Paysages photographiques", Guy Ledune, Brüssel, Belgien


"The Last Picture Show - Artists Using Photography, 1960-1982", UCLA Hammer Museum (UCLA Hammer Museum), Los Angeles, CA, USA

2003

“Cruel and Tender”, Tate Modern, London

Museum Ludwig, Cologne

“Affinities…Now and Then,” Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

“Objective Spaces: Photographers from Germany,” Waddington Galleries, London

“Unreal Estate Opportunities,” pkm gallery, Seoul, Korea

"ars photographica", Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen, Germany


"Photographs of the Twentieth Century", Tate Gallery of Modern Art, London, UK


"Looking in - Looking out", Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland


"JEDE FOTOGRAFIE EIN BILD. SIEMENS FOTOSAMMLUNG", Pinakothek der Moderne (Kunstareal München), München, Germany


"WINGS OF ART - MOTIV FLUGZEUG", Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany


"Cruel and Tender. Zärtlich und Grausam. Fotografie und das Wirkliche", Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany


"AUFGESCHRAUBT & ABGESTAUBT III - DIE SAMMLUNGEN IM PROZESS DER NEUPRÄSENTATION", Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany


"Mouvements de fonds - Acquisitions 2002 du Fonds national d'art contemporain", MAC - galeries contemporaines des Musées de Marseille, Marseille, France


"The Last Picture Show - Artists Using Photography - 1960-1982", Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA


"Berlin-Moskau Moskau-Berlin 1950-2000", Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany


"PRIVATE/CORPORATE II - EIN DIALOG DER SAMMLUNGEN", DaimlerChrysler Contemporary, Berlin, Germany

"Journey to Now - John Kaldor Art Projects & Collection", Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia


"AUFGESCHRAUBT UND ABGESTAUBT - DIE SAMMLUNG IM PROZESS DER NEUPRÄSENTATION", 
Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany


"La Photographie Allemande", Art & Public, Geneva, Switzerland


"Imperfect Innocence - The Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection",
 The Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (PBICA), Lake Worth, FL, USA


"Categorically Speaking", Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago - MCA Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA


"Andre - Becher - Buren - Flavin - Lewitt - Schoonhoven - Serra - Zorio", Baronian_Francey, Brussels, Belgium

2002

Documenta XI, Kassel, Germany

“From Pop to Now: Selections from the Sonnabend Collection,” The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY

"ars photographica", Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen 


"Fotografie", Galerie Springer & Winckler, Berlin

"In Szene gesetzt - Architektur in der Fotografie der Gegenwart", 
Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren

"Die Zweite Schöpfung - Bilder der industriellen Welt", Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin

"Schupmann Collection - Fotografie in Deutschland nach 1945", 
Stadtmuseum Münster

"The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910-1934", Museum of Modern Art, New York

"Augenblick - Foto/Kunst in der Sammlung Essl", Sammlung Essl - Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg

"Positionen der Fotografie", Galerie Fahnemann, Berlin / documenta 11, Kassel

2001

“Field Trips – Robert Smithson and Bernd and Hilla Becher,” Fundação de Serralves, Porto, Portugal

"Pathos der Sachlichkeit - Industrielandschaft in Meisterwerken der Fotografie", Ludwig Galerie Schloss Oberhausen

"Erstpräsentation", Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen

"Art Fashion", Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar, Schlossmuseum, Weimar

2000

"Fotografie,” Kunstverein, Radolfzell

"How you look at it,” Fotografien des 20. Jahrhunderts, Sprengel Museum, Hannover

"HausSchau. Das Haus in der Kunst", Deichtorhallen, Hamburg

"Contemporary Art from Germany - German Festival in India 2000-2001", National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai; Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta u.a.O.

1999

“Views from the Edge of the World,” Marlborough Gallery, New York

"Bilder, Fotografien und Handschriften aus der Sammlung 
Volker Kahmen", Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und 
Westfalen, Düsseldorf

"Zwischen Abbildung und Experiment", Fotokunst 1950 - 1990 aus der Sammlung Garnatz, Karlsruhe

1998

"Art Today," Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana

"100 Years of Sculpture: From the Pedestal to the Pixel," Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota "Comparative Concepts," International Center of Photography, New York, NY

"Deep Storage," P.S. 1, Long Island City, New York; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.

“Under “Under Construction,” Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto

1997

Gallery Ram, San Francisco, CA

Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY

1996

Kamakura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

"German Photographers", John Gibson Gallery, New York, NY

"Sammlung Sonnabend" Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany; Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich, Germany

1995

"Seeing Things: Fifteenth Anniversary Exhibition", Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA

"From Icon to Irony; German and American Industrial Photography", Boston University Art Gallery, Boston, MA

1994

"1969", Jablonka Galerie, Cologne, Germany

"The Epic and the Everyday: Contemporary Photographic Art", Hayward Gallery, London

"In the Field: Landscape in Recent Photography", Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY

1993

"Systems of Vision", Ehlers Caudill Gallery Ltd., Chicago

"Contemporary German Photographs", Hirschl & Adler Modern, NY

"Out of Sight, Out of Mind", Lisson Gallery, London

"Photoplay: Works from the Chase Manhattan Collection", Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, FL; Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico; Centro Cultural Consolidado, Caracas, Venezuela; MASP/Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brasil; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile

1992

"L'esprit de l'industrie", Collection du CAPC, CAPC, Musee d'art Contemporain de Bordeaux

"Photography in Contemporary German Art: 1960 To The Present", Walker Art Centers, Minneapolis, MN; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Guggenheim Museum Soho, NY; Lannan Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany

"Becher, Mapplethorpe, Sherman", Museo de Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico

"Special Collections: The Photographic Order From Pop to Now", The International Center of Photography Midtown, NY

"El Mundo Imaginado: Obras Sobre Papel del Arte Contemporaneo Aleman", Goethe-Institut, Madrid

"New Jersey Collects: Photography", New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, New Jersey

1991

"Typologies: Nine Contemporary Photographers", Newport Harbor Art

Museum, Newport Beach, CA

"Contemporary Art from The Collection of Jason Rubell", Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC

"Photography: 1980-1990", Ginny Williams Gallery, Denver, CO

"Oikos", Galerie Gabrielle Maubrie, Paris

"Consorts", Pence Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

"Fall & Winter: 1991-1992", Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

Stuart Regen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

"Departures: Photography 1923-1990", Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, College of Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts; Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska; Pittsburgh Center for Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; The Goldie Paley Gallery at Moore College at Art and Design, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Telfair Academy of Arts and Science, Inc., Savannah, Georgia

1990

"Assembled: Works of Art using Photography as a Construction Element", University Art Galleries, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

"Signs of Life: Process and Materials, 1960-1990", Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

"B.& H. Becher: Oeuvres Recentes", Art Cologne, Galerie Vega, Plainevaux (Liege), Switzerland

"Art Conceptuel, Formes Conceptuelles", Galerie 1900-2000, Paris

"The Past and The Present of Photography", The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

"German Photography: Documentation and Introspection", The Adlrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield

"Team Spirit", Neuberger Museum, SUNY Purchase; Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia; The Art Museum of Florida, International University, Miami; Spirit Square Center for the Arts, Charlotte, NC; Davenport Art Museum, Davenport, IO; Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MI

"Perspectives on Place: Attitudes Toward the Built Environment", University Art Gallery, San Diego State University

1989

"Conspicuous Display", Stedman Art Gallery, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ (Exh. cat.)

"Repetition", Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York, NY

"Collecting/Organizing/Transposing", Maryland Art Place, Inc., Baltimore, MD

"Artists of the '80s: Selected Works from the Maslow Collection", Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, PA

"The Big Picture", Rena Bransten Gallery, New York "Bilderstreit: constraction, unity and frangmentation in art since 1960", Ludwig Museum in the Rheinhallen, Cologne, West Germany, (exhb. cat.)

"Invention and Continuity in Contemporary Photographs", Gioconda & Joseph H. King Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

"Un'altra obiettivita': fotografia, arte contemporanea", Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Prato, Italy

"Sei Artisti Tedeschi", Costello di Rivara, Italy

"New Work by Gallery Artists", Sonnabend Gallery, New York

"Buena Vista"/ John Gibson Gallery, New York (curated by Collins & Milazzo)

"Departures: Photography, 1924-1989", Hirschl & Adler Modern, NY

1988

"Collection Sonnabend", Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Capc, Musee d'Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France; Art Cologne, Cologne, West Germany; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, West Germany; Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Roma; Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Trent, Italy; Musee Rath, Geneva; Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo; The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai, Japan; The Fukuyama Museum of Art, Hiroshima, Japan; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

"Another Objectivity", Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

1987

"This is Not a Photograph: 20 Years of Large-Scale Photography, 1966-1986", The John And Marble Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH

"Beyond The Image", First Street Forum:/ St. Louis, MI

"Selections From X71-11, Organized by Saul Ostrow, Damon Brandt Gallery, New York Wolff Gallery, New York

"Typologies", Thomas Segal Gallery, Boston, MA

1986

"Bernd & Hilla Becher, Gunther Forg, Reinhard Mucha", Luhring, Augustine & Hodes Gallery, New York, NY

1985

"Ressemblances/Dissemblances", Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Liege, Liege, Belgium

1984

"Artistic Collaboration in the Twentieth Century", Hirschhorn Museum, Washington

"Summer Group Show", Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1983

"The Architectural Impulse", TWEED-The Gallery, Plainfield, New Jersey

"Radical Space/Rational Time", Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington/ D.C., Seattle, WA

"Contemporary Photographers", Academy of Art-Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI

"Big Pictures", Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

"Recent European Painting", Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

"A R S 83", Helsinki

"Photography in Contemporary Art", Tokyo and Kyoto

1982

"British Mining in Art", Science Museum, London

"Visual Cataloguing & Mapping: Photographs, Installations & Artist's Books", Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, N.Y.

"Counterparts: From and Emotion in Photography", Metropolitan Museum of Art and Traveling Exhibition

"Documenta (7)", Kassel, West Germany

1981

"Land/Urban Scapes", Islip Twon Arts Center & Gallery, Islip, L.I.

1980

"Europe 1980", Lyon, France

Ruhrfestspiele, Recklinghausen

"Die Photographic", Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg

"Hier and Apres", Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal

"Exploration in the 70's", Plan for Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Artist and Camera", Arts Council Great Britain

"The Photograph Transformed", Touchstone Gallery, New York

"Situation Imagery", Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine

1979

"Photographies", Sonnabend Gallery, Paris, France

"Industrial Sights", Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown Branch, New York

"Views Over America", Museum of Modern Art, Penthouse Gallery, New York

"The Third Biennale of Sydney", Sydney, Australia

"5 mal 30", Stadtisches Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, WG

"Concept-Narrative-Document", Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

"Deutsche Fotografie nach 1945", Kessler Kunstverein, Kassel, West Germany

1978

"Grids", The Pace Gallery, New York; Akron Art Institute, Ohio

"Ink Zurich Documentation 1", Zurich, Switzerland

"Work from the Crex Collection in Louisiana Museum Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Lenbach Haus, Munich, WG

Kunstlerehen, Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe

"Summer Group Show", Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1977-78

"Europe in the Seventies: Aspects of Recent Art", Hirshorn Museum and

Sculpture Gallery, Washington, D.C.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

1977

"Documenta (6)", Kassel, West Germany

"XIV Internationale Biennale Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

"Europe in the Seventies", Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

"Kunst und Architektur", Magers Gallery, Bonn

"Tendenzen der Kunst in der Bundersrepublik Deutschland nach 45", Budapest

Giuli Gallery, Lecco, Italy

Civica Gallery, Modena, Italy

"Sonderschau Deutschland", Art 8, Basel, Switzerland

"Vogel Collection", University of Michigan, Museum of Art

"New York/New York", Light Gallery, New York

"Summer Drawing Show", The Art Association Of Newport, Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I.

"Photography as an Art Form", John and Marble Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida

"Sequential '77", Harkness House, New York

Visual Art Museum, School of Visual Arts, New York

1976

"Identite", Centre d'Arts Plastiques Contemporains, Bordeaux, France

Rennes Museum, France

Jerusalem Museum, Jerusalem, Israel

"Illusions of Reality", National Gallery, Canberra, Australia

Suzanne Hilberry Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan

1975

"New Media", Malmo Kunsthalle, Malmo, Sweden

"Modern Typologies", Eastman House, Rochester, New York

"Sequenced Photographs", University of Maryland Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

"Locate/Order/Measure", University of Colorado, Boulder

Johnson Gallery, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont

1974

"Idea and Image", Art Insitute Chicago, Chicago

"Image and Idea in Recent Art", Photokins, Cologne, WG

Kunstverein, Heidelberg, West Germany

1973

"Contemporanea", Rome, Italy

"Festival d'Automme a Paris", Paris, France

"Incontri Internazionali d'Arte", Rome, Italy

Gallery D, Brussels, Belgium

Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut

1972

"Documenta (5)", Kassel, West Germany

"13 Artists Chosen for Documents", Sonnabend Gallery, New York

George Eastman House, Rochester, New York

"Paris-Amsterdam-Dusseldorf", Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

"Spoleto Festival", Spoleto, Italy

1971

"Prospect '71", Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, West Germany

"2nd Biennale", Nurnberg, West Germany

1970

"Information", Museum of Modern Art, New York

"Strategy Gets Art", International Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland

1969

"Prospect '69", Stadtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, WG

"Concept", Stadtische Museum Schloss, Morsbroich

"Conception", Stadtische Museum, Leverkusen, German

ARTICLES

2003

Galloway, David. “Celebrating Industrial Landscapes” The International

Herald Tribune, Saturday, December 20

2002

Ziegler, Ulf Erdmann Ziegler. “The Bechers’ Industrial Lexicon.” Art in America, June, pp. 93-101, 140-142

“The Long Look.” The Tate Magazine, Sept/Oct, issue 1, pp. 74-79

2001

Boudier, Laurent. “Le droit d’inventaire de Bernd et Hilla Becher.” Le Journal des Arts, no. 121, May 24

1996

Baker, Kenneth. “Bechers’ Monuments to Industry.” San Francisco Chronicle, May 10

1995

Calhoun, Catherine. "The Getty Bombshell." American Photo, March/April, pp. 20-22.

Karmel, Pepe. "The Next Logical Step in Industrial Scenes." The New York Times, 31 March 1995, p. C21.

1994

Codognato, Mario. "Collection: Attilio Codognato." Galeries, Spring, No. 59, pp. 90-97.

Collins, Tom. "Straight, No Chaser." Santa Fe Reporter, May 11-17, p. 23.

..."Word of Mouth." Conde Nast Traveler, May, p. 56.

Garrels, Gary. "Bernd og Hilla Becher." Bild: Fotografi i tysk samtidskunst, June, pp. 20+21.

Adlmann, Jan, Ernst. "Hilla and Bernd Becher." The, June, p. 57.

Bonetti, David. "Imposing order on chaos in pop culture." The San Francisco Examiner, 8 July 1994, pp. D5-D6.

Baque, Dominique. "De Hiroshima a Glooscap: identifications d'une ville." Artpress, November, no. 196, pp. 40-49.

1993

Hagen, Charles. "Making Industrial Buildings Look Like Butterflies."

The New York Times, Friday, Jan. 22, p. C15.

Kimmelman, Michael. "Dismantling Artistic Barriers." The New York Times, Fri., 12 February 1993, pp. C1 + C24.

..."New York: German Photography." Flash Art News, Vol. XXVI, No.170, May/June, p. 99.

..."Out of Sight at the Lisson." Flash Art News, Vol. XXVI, No. 170, May/June, p. 107.

Villaespesa, Mar. "El Coleccionista O La Mirada Turbadora." Photovision, no. 24, pp. 17-44, 50.

Bogard, Georges. "Reviews: Permanent installations of contemporary art." Canadian Art, Summer, pp. 68-71.

Cameron, Dan. "Gas Tanks, by Bernd & Hilla Becher." Bookforum, Artforum, Dec.. XXXII, no. 4, p. 74.

1992

De Duve, Thierry. "Bernd et Hilla Becher ou La Photographie Monumentaire." Les Cahiers du Musee national d'art moderne, Spring,

pp. 118-124.

..."Grist for Camera Lens." The Los Angeles Times, 16 April 1992.

Severin, Ingrid. "Artifacts as Architecture: Photography of Another Space." Photography, Center Quarterly, #51, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 12-13.

Levy, Ellen, K. "The Encyclopedic Impulse." Photography, Center Quarterly, #51, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 5-7

Goldberg, Vicki. "Seven Thousand Pictures Are Better Than One." The New York Times, 23 August 1992, Section 2, pp. 25 + 30.

Hebdige, Dick. "America Is an Old Country." Artforum, Oct., pp. 83-87.

Foerstner, Abigail. "Exhibit compares the artistry of ordinary details." The Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, Sect. 7, pp. 98 + 106.

1991

Levin, Kim. "Collective Conscious: Contemporary Sculpture Collaborations." Sculpture, Mar./Apr. pp. 34-39.

Galloway, David. "Bernd and Hilla Becher: Kunstverein." Artnews, Jan, p.173.

Grundberg, Andy. "Without Sentimentality, The Work of 6 Germans." The New York Times, 25 January 1991, pg. C15.

"Team Spirit: Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art." Dialogue, Arts in the Midwest,, Jan./Feb., pg. 34.

Cullinan, Helen. "Partnering for artsy mimickry." The Plain Dealer, Feb. 23.

Nemser, Rebecca. "Bernd & Hilla Becher." The Boston Phoenix, 8 March 1991.

Wise, Kelly. "Accessible and remote grids of Bernd and Hilla Becher." The Boston Globe, Wed. Mar. 13.

Rimanelli, David. "Six German Photographers, Sonnabend Gallery." Artforum, Apr. pp. 122-123.

Decter, Joshua. "Six German Photographers at Sonnabend Gallery." Arts Magazine, April, p. 100.

Hirschorn, Michael. "Typologies: The New Soup Cans." Esquire, July, pp. 20-21.

Bonetti, David. "S.F. dealers' show of shows." San Francisco Examiner, 12 July 1991, p. D-2.

Baker, Kenneth. "Fraenkel Settles Into Spacious New Digs." San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July, p. E3.

Schjeldahl, Peter. "Photos that Never tell a Lie." Elle Magazine, Sept. pp. 220 + 222.

Kohen, Helen, L. "Team Work showcases the art of coloration." The Miami Herald, 19 September 1991.

Ripley, Deborah. "One Step From Death." Artscribe, Nov./Dec., pp. 126-27.

1990

Grundberg, Andy. "Seeking the Human Qualities in Industrial Forms." The New York Times, 7 January 1990, pp. Cl + C36.

Catoir, Barbara. "Golden Lion for Anonymous Sculptures." Kultur Chronik, May, pgs. 11-14.

Bentley May, John. "Venetian visions." The Globe and Mail, 26 May.

Kimmelman, Michael. "Venice Biennale Opens With Suprises." The New York Times, 28 May 1990, pp. C11 + C17.

Bentley Mays, John. "Biennale's jury casts tradition aside in awarding prizes."The Globe and Mail, 29 May 1990, p. D4.

Gibson, Michael. "From the Poetic to Kitsch at the Biennale." I International Herald Tribune, Sat.- Sun., June 2-3.

Rohr-Bongard, Linde. "Professionelle Machart." Capital, June, pp. 264-266.

Singelton, Kate. "Ileana Sonnabend Shaping Modern Art History." International Herald Tribune, 24-25 June 1990, p. 7.

Vetrocq, Marcia E. "Vexed in Venice." Art in America, October, pp. 152-163.

Frank, Peter. "Commentary." Sculpture Magazine, Sept./Oct. pgs. 37-39.

Grundberg, Andy. "Sex, Politics And Social Status." The New York Times, 29 December 1990, pp. 37 + 39.

1988

Smith, Roberta. "West Broadway." The New York Times, 26 February 1988

Salvioni, Daniela. "Bernd and Hilla Becher." Flash Art, May-June,

1988, pg. 104.

Grimes, Nancy. "Bernd and Hilla Becher." Artnews, May, p. 166.

Weinstein, Matthew, A. "Review: Bernd & Hilla Becher." Artforum, Summer, pp. 136+137.

Chevrier, Jean-Francois. "Review 17." Galeries, December '88/ January 89, pp. 71-75.

1987

Miller, John. "Review, Luhring, Augustine, & Hodes." Artscribe, March/April, p. 82, 83.

1986

Sturman, John. "Bernd & Hilla Becher at Sonnabend." ArtNews, March.

"Bernd & Hilla Becher at Sonnabend." Artforum (March) p. 114.

Sturtevant, Alfred. "Bernd and Hilla Becher at Sonnabend." Arts (Review), March, pp. 124-125.

Miller, Donald. "19th Century minister's art impresses." Post-Gazzette, Saturday, February 8.

Smith, Roberta. "Art: Gunther Forg and Reinhard Mucha in Show." The New York Times, 28 November 1986.

Indiana, Gary. "Enclosed by System." Village Voice, Dec. 9, 1986, review.

1983

Raynor, Vivien. The New York Times, 23 January, 1983.

Watkins, Eileen. The Sunday Star-Ledger, 23 January.

Artner, Alan, G. Chicago Tribune, 28 January.

..."Hilla & Bernd Becher." Arts , May.

..."OPENER... gallery plans photograph show." Reading Times, 26 August.

Hejduk, John. "Bernd & Hilla Becher." Reading Eagle, 11 September.

DeSantis, Tullio, Francesco. "These coal tipples tower as photo-art." Pottsville (P.A.) "Coal mining tipples are untypical subject of exhibit by couple." Republican, 6 October.

1981

Nuridsnay, Michael. ArtPress, nr. 45.

Wingate, Ealan. Express (New York), Vol. 1, nr. 2.

Grauerholz, Angela and Ramsden, Anne. Parachute (Montreal), nr. 22.

Zanetti, Paola, Serra. Il Diaframma, (Milan-Italy), (January).

1980

Morris, Linda. "Artist and Camera." Arts Council of Great Britain,

Vogel, Carol. "Bernd und Hilla Becher." Ingenieur-Architektur.

1979

Artforum (February), p.67.

1978

Artforum (January), p. 52.

1977

Kunstforum Bd., nr.4, pp. 322-327.

1976

Artforum (September), p.50.

Magazine Kunst, nr.4, p.115.

1975

Power, Mark. "Sequential Photography." The Washington Post.

1974

Polak, Clark. Los Angeles Free Press (June 21).

1972

"The Uneven Texture of City Life." (2 reviews), Village Voice, March 9

Artnews, (April).

Gerrit, Henry. "Review." Artforum, December.

Carter Ratcliff, (review)

Andre, Carl. "A Note on Bernd and Hilla Becher." Artforum, December.

1971

Jappe, George. "Projection: The New Trend at Prospect 171." Studio International.

COLLECTIONS

Museum of Modern Art, New York

Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany

La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, California

Broxton Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Carol and Arthur Goldberg, New York

Massimi Valsecchi, Milan, Italy

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Gilman, New York

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada

Denver Art Museum, Colorado

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas

CATALOGUES AND BOOKS

2006

Cooling Towers,Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press

Grain Elevators, Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press

Lange, Susanne. (translated by Jeremy Gaines). Bernd and Hilla Becher: Life and Work, Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press

2004

Grundformen industrieller Bauten, foreward by Gunilla Knape, text by

Susanne Lange, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel Verlag

Bernd and Hilla Becher: Typologien Industrieller Bauten, K20 K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, text by Armin Zweite, Thomas Weski, Ludger Derenthal and Susanne Lange, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel Verlag

Bernd and Hilla Becher, Centre national d’art et de culture George Pompidou, text by Armin Zweite, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris

Typologies, Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press

Hochöfen, Schirmer/Mosel, München 1990/2002

2002

Industrielandschaften, Schirmer/Mosel, München 2002 (English edition:

Industrial Landscapes; Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press)

2001

Fachwerkhäuser, Hrsg. Martina Doppe, Museum für Kunst der Gegenwart, Siegen

2000

Zeche Hannibal, forward by Susanne Lange and Els Barents, text by Rudi Fuchs, Munich: Schirmer/Mosel Verlag

Framework Houses, Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press

1999

Thierry de Duve: Basic Forms, Schirmer/Mosel, München

1997

Fördertürme, Munich, Paris and London: Schirmer/Mosel Verlag (English edition:Mineheads; Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press)

August Sander, Karl Blossfeldt, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Bernd und Hilla Becher– Vergleichende Konzeptionen, Hrsg. Photographische Sammlung, Köln

1995

Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

1994

Rosenblum, Naomi. A History of Women Photographers. Abbeville Press Publishers, Paris, London, New York.

1993

Photoplay, Works from the Chase Manhattan Collection, NY

1992

Photography in Contemporary German Art: 1960 To The Present, by Gary Garrels, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN

Adriani, Goetz. El Mundo Imaginado: Obras Sobre Papel del Arte Contemporaneo Aleman, Goethe-Institut, Madrid

New Jersey Collects: Photograph. New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, New Jersey

1991

Typologies: Nine Contemporary Photographers, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA

Art Since Mid-Century: 1945 to the Present, by Daniel Wheeler, The Vendome Press, New York

Grundberg, Andy, Edmund Yankov. Departures. Photography 1923-1990, (exhibition catalogue), Independent Curators Incorporated, New York

1990

Blast Furnaces, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., London, England

Watertowers, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., London, England

Typologies, XLIV. Esposizione Internazionale D'Arte, La Biennale di Venezia 1990

German Photography: Documentation and Introspection, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT

Signs of Life: Process and Materials, 1960-1990, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Assembled: Works of Art Using Photography as a Construction

Element, The University Art Galleries, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

1989

Departures: Photography 1924-1989, Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York

Sei Artists Tedeschi, Castello di Rivara, Rivara (Torino), Italy

1986

Bernd und Hilla Becher, Kamakura Gallery, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

1985

Fordertume Chevalements Mineheads, Museum Folkwang Essen, ARC/Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Liege, essays by Zdenek Felix(Museum Folkwang Essen) & Suzanne Page (Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris)

1980

Explorations in the 70's, Pittsburg Plan for Art, essay by Robert Rosenblum

1977

Frachwerkhauser Des Siegener Industriegebietes, Schirmer/Mosel, Munich

1970

Anonyme Skulpturen: Eine Typologie technischer Bauten, Art-Verlag Press, Dusseldorf

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