hirshhorn museum, washington D.C.
may 10 - august 12, 2007
http://hirshhorn.si.edu

tillmans is acclaimed as a chronicler of his generation,
and he has garnered international recognition as one
of the most significant artists to emerge in the 1990s.
his distinctive work has been hugely influential for a
generation of younger artists.

at first tillmans documented the european club scene
in a manner that captured its dynamic style with an
affecting sincerity, and he presented this work in
carefully crafted spreads for british fashion and
lifestyle magazines (such as i-D).
he then increasingly presented subjects ranging from
still lifes to portraits of friends and celebrities,
subtly alluding to his interest in issues such as
homelessness, racism, and gay rights.
despite his use of magazine layouts as an early vehicle
for his work, his provocative images always challenged
the superficial gloss of the fashion industry and
subverted notions of beauty and sexuality.

while certain works are notably singular and iconic,
his use of a shifting scale for his prints and an
ever-changing rotation of images with each successive
installation demonstrates his desire to see all of his
pictures as universally significant.
in doing so, tillmans suggests that an unassuming image
of jars of jam on a counter-top carries equal weight and
importance as an image of a bolt of lightning or a
political rally.
by applying the same clarity of vision and intensity of
purpose to every picture - whether an image of a place,
person, situation, or an abstraction - tillmans offers a
visually unified perspective on the diverse phenomena
that comprise the broad spectrum of lived experience.
since the 1990s, tillmans's work has turned increasingly
toward abstraction.

the exhibition was organized by russell ferguson,
deputy director of exhibitions and programs and
chief curator at the hammer museum, and dominic molon,
pamela alper associate curators at the MCA.

see also
wolfgang tillmans’ exhibition at regen projects
in los angeles, october 22 - november 27, 2004
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/tillmans.html

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wolfgang tillmans
was born in remscheid, germany, in 1968,
he studied at the bournemouth & poole college of art in
dorset before moving to london.
his work has been presented in solo exhibitions
at numerous international museums, most recently at
the tokyo opera city art gallery, tokyo (2004);
the tate modern, london (2003); the louisiana museum
of modern art, denmark (2003); the palais de tokyo,
paris (2002); and the deichtorhallen, hamburg (2001).
in 2000, tillmans won the prestigious turner prize.