Katharina Sieverding

Katharina Sieverding (*1944 Prague, CZ) is regarded as a pioneer of photography, film and video art in large format. In her artwork, Sieverding explores themes such as individuality and the technologisation of man and nature. She is interested in the metamorphosis of materials too, hence her preference for photography: a medium where traditionally a chemical reaction in a darkened room causes an image to emerge on a blank sheet of paper.  

These three large black and white photographs depict close-ups of the curvature of a seashell, of enlarged crystalline structures and of minerals. By zooming in on patterns that can otherwise be difficult or even impossible to see, Sieverding reveals a world of detail that may otherwise remain invisible to the human eye. The strong tonal contrasts, the harsh, erratic lines and the heavy steel plates on which the photographs are mounted give the works a distanced, mechanical feel; a style that is characteristic of the artist’s body of work.