BERLIN.- Contemporary Fine Arts is presenting the exhibition “90 Jahre 90 Fotos” on the occasion of F.C. Gundlach’s 90th birthday.

For his 90th birthday, F.C. Gundlach has selected exclusively for CFA his 90 most important, best, and favorite photographs from his substantial Oeuvre. Thematic fractures, frictions, and surprises are explicitly intended.

Iconic classics from the legendary German fashion photographer are accompanied alongside free, experimental works: one of them a white, contour-less study; a propeller plane, the Super Constellation type, high above the clouds; a camel train striding across the desert; or the timeless portrait of model Karin Mossberg. Important milestones of European post-war fashion photography are highlighted throughout the sequence of the 90 images: Beginning with the journey through Berlin in the 1950s, to the Haute Couture shows of the great Parisian fashion houses – such as Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin and Chanel – up to Prêt à Porter-styles and the trends of the modern 1960s, the miniskirt and the influence of pop and op art on the fashion collections and above all their photographic production. They are joined by photographs which can be understood as symbols of their relative Zeitgeist: A photograph form 1947 in which a friend is captured as a silhouette in the doorway through the darkness of a church in F.C. Gundlach’s birthplace, Heinebach; the first Porsche 911 of the photographer at the beach in Fanø; the impressive architecture of the Cathedral of Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer; up to the recording of Uschi Obermaier staged with inflatable dolls from a Pepsi advertisement. The photo journalism of the 1950s and 1960s by the globe-trotting photographer is also presented as well as his artist and actor portraits: From Martin Kippenberger to Romy Schneider.

The 90 photos emanate from a conceivable variety of contexts. The common characteristic being that the photographer himself has included them in his personal “Best Of” selection. The result is a subjective look at 90 years of F.C. Gundlach, which correlates to the wish of the photographer, 90 years-old and transcending fashion photography with his work. F.C. Gundlach is still convinced that the boundaries between applied photography and photography as an art form is to a large extent taken far too seriously.

In addition to the 90 photographic works, the exhibition includes a documentary component which, housed in vitrines covers F.C. Gundlach’s diverse biography and in image and document form depicts his life journey influenced by his work, travel and the people around him. It becomes apparent how photography followed him his entire life – from his first photos as a ten-year-old with a self-timer from an Agfa Clack, to a look behind the scenes of his legendary fashion photography, to his time as gallerist, collector, museum director and benefactor.