Jitka Hanzlová
forest
The exhibition forest shows 45 works by the Essen-based photographer Jitka Hanzlová shot in the forests of her home country Czechia, in the area close to the Carpatian mountains, during various seasons of the past five years. The photographs visualise the artist's subjective engagement with her own history. "The path I am taking leads me back so I can see the future," she says; it is a way of returning to her roots by means of photography. Clearings, marshy puddles, timber forests in the snow, fields where animals have left their tracks, clumps of trees and branches threateningly occupying the foreground give us an insight into nature devoid of humans, an environment that seems inviting and scary at the same time. The compositions are carefully planned yet look accidental, their fragile chromaticity makes the pictures appear ephemeral and fantastically tangible at once. One artistic goal the photographer's efforts seem to be geared to is direct experience of nature as she tracks down the secret of creation and transitoriness in nature.
Jitka Hanzlová is interested in the "in-between", as John Berger calls it, in the neither-normanifesting itself in a kind of timeless and weightless photography. Her photographs hint at what exists in between subsoil and clearings, in between emergence, becoming and passing away, in between all life-cycles and times. Hanzlová's works are attempts at landscape representation beyond the visible, they deal with that which cannot be represented, a hidden meaning, something infinite manifested in nature as it is in flux and undergoes constant change. Hanzlová's photographs do not freeze a certain moment or show a specific point of time; instead, they rather draw the beholder's attention to events seemingly outside the relentless march of time, events which can only be sensed and felt subconsciously as time passes.
In his essay on Hanzlová's work John Berger writes something along the following lines: What is intangible and within touching distance in a forest may be the presence of a kind of timelessness. Not the abstract timelessness of metaphysical speculation, nor the metaphorical timelessness of cyclic, seasonal repetition.
The search for an image of nature that defies understanding, that can give us an idea of infinity, may also be read as an attempt at experiencing nature in a mythical way. However, it is the in-between which places Hanzlová's work outside defined categories and fads, outside the glossy photographs of seemingly untouched nature in tour operator catalogues which are designed to instil a longing for the illusion that you can experience unspoilt nature in a consumer world that moves ever faster. Her work does not show the forest as a ubiquitous commodity available for consumption at all times but as a memory of the universal timeless metaphor for the origin of all being.
A monograph with an essay by John Berger has been published about the series of photographs forest by Jitka Hanzlová (German version: Steidl Verlag und Druck, Göttingen).
Biography
born 1958, lives and works in Essen
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
Water that dreams, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York, NY
2022
UN'INVINCIBLE ESTATE - DOORWAY, Fotografia Europea Palazzo da Mosto, Reggio Emilia
D R I F T, Jitka Hanzlová | Marianne Mueller, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
WHEN THE WELL'S DRY with Jürgen Drescher, Mai 36 Gallery, Zurich
SHAPES OF WATER, F2 Galeria, Madrid
2021
Architectures of Life, Galeria Raffaella Cortese, Milan
Sheroes of Photography Part III: Jitka Hanzlová, KICKEN, Berlin
2020
Jitka Hanzlová: WATER, Galerie Peter Sillem, Frankfurt am Main
Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
2019
Jitka Hanzlová, kanalidarte, Brescia
SILENCES / Tisiny, Národi Galerie Prague, Trade Fair Palace, Prague
2018
BETWEEN CONTINUUM. Fotografische und filmische Arbeiten seit 1990, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Museum für Photographie Braunschweig, Wolfsburg
2017
Forest, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York
2016
Horse, Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague
2015
One to one, Yancey Richardson, New York
2014
Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2013
FOTOGRAFÍAS, Centro de Cultura Antiguo Instituto, Gijón
Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
2012
Fundación Mapfre, Instituto de Cultura, Madrid
Jitka Hanzlová, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
There is something I don’t know, Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan
There is something I don’t know, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York
2010
Hier, Kicken Berlin, Berlin
2008
forest 2000-2005, KUB – Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz
2007
Denn Bleiben ist nirgends, Kicken Berlin, Berlin
birds opening, Kunsthaus Hamburg
ZEIT LOS, FO.KU.S. Foto Kunst Stadtforum, Innsbruck
bewohner, Art Foyer DZ Bank, Frankfurt
2006
Forest, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Forest, Galeria Raffaella Cortese, Milan
Galerie Edition 20.21 Kunsthandel, Essen
Forest, Museum Folkwang, Essen
Forest 2000-2005, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
2005
Forest, Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague
Kunstverein Arnsberg, Arnsberg
Forest, Museum Folkwang, Essen
2004
Rokitnik, Moscow House of Photography, Moscow
2003
Brixton, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham
Jahresgaben 2003 – Jitka Hanzlová, Ingar Krauss, Kunstverein Arnsberg e.V., Arnsberg
2001
Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
Female, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Female, Jiri Svestka Gallery, Prague
Galerie-Edition 20.21, Essen
2000
Goethe Institut, Prague
Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Bewerly Hills, Los Angeles
Raffaella Cortese Galerie, Milan
Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
1999
Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York
Galerie Patrick De Brock, Knokke
Photomuseum Argazki Euskal Museoa, Zarautz
Galerie Le Lieu, Lorient
Galerie EFTI, Madrid
1998
Galerie db-s, Antwerp
Goethe Institut, Budapest
Galerie Marie-José van de Loo, Munich
Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca
1997
Museum Schloß Hardenberg, Velbert
1996
Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt
1995
Galerie db-s, Antwerp
La Maison de la Photographie, Lectoure
1994
Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
THIS IS ME, THIS IS YOU. The Eva Felten Photography Collection, Museum Brandhorst, Munich
Sheroes of Photography Part V, Kicken, Berlin
TOUCH NATURE #2, Austrian Cultural Forum, Prague
2022
Wire, Line & String, Mai 36, Zurich
2021
Sheroes of Photography Part I: From Lady Hatton... to Tata Ronkholz, KICKEN, Berlin
ESSERE UMANE, Musei San Domenicao, Fiorli
2020
Portrait II & Inverventionen, Museum Neuhardenenberg, Neuhardenberg
Neue Welt. Die Entdeckung der Sammlung #1, Museum Folkwang, Essen
Subjekt und Objekt, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Beyond the image: Bertien Van Manen and Friends, Stadelijk Museum, Amsterdam
2019
Unfolded Matters. Nature as Culture, Culture as Nature, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2017
mit anderen augen - das portrait in der zeitgenössischen fotografie, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Nurenberg
Das Abenteuer unserer Sammlung II, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Kaiser Wilheln Museum, Krefeld, Germany
Portraits, Fundación MAPFRE photography collection, Madrid
Notions of Home, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York
MADE IN GERMANY, German Photography from the 19th Century to Today, XieZielong Photography Art Center, Changsha
Umbrüche: Industrie - Landschaft - Wandel, MuT - Museum unter Tage, Stiftung Situation Kunst, Bochum
2016
Faces, European Portrait Photography since 1990, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki
Human Nature, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Faces, European Portrait Photography since 1990, CentroCentro Madrid, Madrid
VISAGES/FACES, Panels, quays of the Seine/ Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Landscapes & People. From the Photographic Collection of the Albertina (edited by Monika Faber), Albertina, Vienna
LUX: The Radiant Sea, Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York
MADE IN GERMANY, German Photography from the 19th Century to Today, Shenzhen International Photography Week 2016, Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen
Mit anderen Augen – Das Porträt in der zeitgenössischen Fotografie, Kunstmuseum Bonn und der Photographischen Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur Köln, Cologne
2015
Faces.European Portrait photography since 1990, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
Beastly/Tierisch, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
2014
Orte, Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, with Laurenz Berges and Bernhard Fuchs, Frankfurt
Orte, Fotohof Salzburg with Laurenz Berges and Bernhard Fuchs, Salzburg
Structures and Surfaces, Galerie Kicken Berlin, Berlin
2013
No place like home, Kunsthalle HGN Duderstadt, Duderstadt
Artists for Tichy – Tichy for Artists, Collection Foundation Tichy Ocean, GASK Kutna Hora, Kutna Hora
2012
Language Games, Centro de Artes Visuales Fundacion Helga de Alvear, Cáceres
Heimat - Fotografien aus der DZ Bank Kunstsammlung, Kunstverein & Stiftung Springhornhof, Neuenkirchen (near Soltau)
Der Mensch und seine Objekte, Museum Folkwang, Essen
best of ruhrgebiet, Galerie Frank Schlag & Cie., Essen
2011
Photography Calling, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
AIRES DE JEUX, CHAMPS DE TENSIONS, Pavillon Populaire Galerie d'art photographique de la Ville de Montpellier, Montpellier
2010
Ruhrblicke, SANAA-Gebäude (Welterbe Zollverein), Essen
Landschaft ohne Horizont, Stiftung Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
World-Images 3, Heimhaus, Zurich
2009
Das Porträt. Fotografie als Bühne, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
Natures, Galerie Ilka Bree, Bordeaux
Degress of Stillness, Kicken Berlin, Berlin
Life is stranger than fiction, FO.KU.S Kunst Stadtforum, Innsbruck
Faces, Fondazione Ragghianti, Lucca
Sehnsucht nach dem Abbild. Das Portrait im Wandel der Zeit, Kunsthalle Krems, Krems an der Donau
2008
Collection Reggio Emilia, Hôtel de Sauroy, Paris
Stille Landschaften, Städtische Galerie Lüdenscheid, Lüdenscheid
Storie immaginate in Luoghi Reali, Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Milan
2007
What does the jellyfish want? Fotografien von Man Ray bis James Coleman, Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Hauptstrom. When The Clock Strikes Twenty, Kunstraum im Gewerbepark-Süd, Hilden
The World as One. Photography from Germany after 1989, Galeria Miejska Arsenal, Posen
Der Kontrakt des Fotografen, Akademie der Künste, Berlin / Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen
Hauptstrom. When the clock strikes eighteen, zone B, Berlin
Die Liebe zum Licht. Fotografie des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum
Blicke, Passanten - 1930 bis heute. Aus der Fotosammlung der Albertina, Albertina, Vienna
The World as One. Photography from Germany after 1989, Galeria Miejska Arsenal, Posen
2006
In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century, Barbican Art Gallery, London
Die Liebe zum Licht - Fotografie im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert, Städtischen Galerie Delmenhorst, Delmenhorst
Portrait und Menschenbild - Sonderschau der Photographischen Sammlung anläßlich der diesjährigen ART COLOGNE, Die Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur Köln, auf der ART COLOGNE, Cologne
The Photogeny of Identity / Memory of Czech photography, PHP - Prague House of Photography, Prague
Could Have Been the Weather, Tatar Gallery, Toronto
European Eyes on Japan, Kunstmuseum Gifu und Hida Museum, Takayama
ART’FAB - Women of Europe / Femmes d’Europe à Saint-Tropez (part of the first edition of «The Cultural Summer» of Saint-Tropez), La salle „Jean-Despas“, Saint-Tropez
Portrait und Menschenbild, SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne
2005
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Sammlung Olbricht, Museum Morsbroich
Donna Donne, Palazzo Strozzi, Florenz
Japan Today, Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Kanagawa Art Foundation, Kanagawa
Nach Rokytník. Die Sammlung der EVN, MUMOK Museum of Modern Art, Ludwig Foundation, Vienna
Der Traum vom Ich, der Traum von der Welt, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
Femme, Musée Carouge, Geneva
Czech Photography of the 20th Century, Museum of Decorative Arts, The Prague City Gallery, Prague
2004
2004 Pingyao International Photography Show, Pingyao photography festival, Pingyao
Photobienale Moscow 2004, The Moscow Museum of the Contemporary Art, Moscow
Secrets of the `90s, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnheim, Arnheim
Die Welt als Ganzes, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City
Yet Untitled. Sammlung Bernd Kunne, Det Nationale Fotomuseum, Kopenhagen
2003
Portrait Photography, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
Citibank Photography Prize 2003, The Photographer`s Gallery, London; Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf; Fundación Carlos de Amberes, Madrid
Afternoon Delight, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York
INNATURA, X Bienale Internazionale di Fotografia, Turin
2002
Contemporary Art Project, Seattle Art Musem, Seattle
Menschen-Bilder, Galerie Monika Reitz, Frankfurt
Fusion Cuisine, Deste Fondation, Athens
About Face, Gallery Yencey Richardson, New York
Overnight to many cities, The Photographer´s Gallery, London
The Brixton Studio, The Photographer’s Gallery, London
2001
I Love New York, Benefit Exhibition WTC, Klemens Gassser, Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York
Instant city, Museo Pecci, Prato
About the Bayberry Bush, The Parrish Art Museum, South Hampton
2000
There is something you should know. Die Sammlung der EVN, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
Schnitt 2000, Kunstverein Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Die Welt als Ganzes, SK Stiftung, Cologne
The City Bank Privat Bank Photography Prize 2000, The Photographer´s Gallery, London
Das Versprechen der Fotografie, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1999
Positionen der 90er Jahre aus der Sammlung Künne, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg
Another Girl, Another Planet, Lawrence Rubin, Greenberg Van Doren Fine Art, New York
Schön ist es auch anderswo, Rheinisches Industriemuseum Oberhausen, Oberhausen
near and elsewhere, The Photographers Gallery, London
Stadtluft, Kunstverein Hamburg, Hamburg
1998
Women, Galerie Klemens Gasser und Tanja Grunert, Cologne
Portrait, National Technical Museum, Prague
1996
de jeunes, Galerie Poirel, Nancy
European Photography Award 1995, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Fotografie-Festival, Arles
Manifesta I Rotterdam, Museum Chabot, Rotterdam
1995
Traingonales, la Galerie du Chateau d´Eau, Toulouse
European Photography Award 1995, Englische Kirche, Bad Homburg
1994
im fremden land, Goethe Institut, São Paolo
1993
Europese Ofenningen, Galerie db - s, Antwerp
1992
Czech Photography in Exil, Mánes, Prague
Awards and Grants
2007
Paris Photo Prize for Contemporary Photography
2003
Grand Prix Award - Project Grant 2003, Arles, France
1998
Scholarship, Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur des Landes NRW, Düsseldorf
1995
European Photography Award 1995
Scholarship DG BANK Frankfurt
1993
Dr.-Otto-Steinert-Preis by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie
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