An exhibition by Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne – Exhibition period: 13 March to 12 July 2026
Starting from various locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, the exhibition presents key aspects of contemporary life through the example of 14 artistic positions. A strong focus is placed on urban space, industrial structures, and the multifaceted aspects of society and social interaction. The exhibition also reflects on current approaches to the remnants of the past, while offering perspectives on future contexts. Participating artists from several generations are included, all based in NRW, some with biographies that point to international countries of origin. Their photographic series, created between the 1990s and 2024, are presented in both colour and black and white; film works are also included.
Boris Becker, Frank Dömer and Gerhard Winkler engage specifically with the urban space of Cologne. Becker“s large-format colour photographs of individual architectural and technical structures highlight the formal and chromatic qualities of everyday buildings; Frank Dömer examines urban structures in their diversity and in the encounter between order and disorder; Gerhard Winkler“s hand-coloured images of everyday situations develop an idiosyncratic, transformative aesthetic. Almourad Aldeeb delves into the „belly of the city“ with his film, allowing viewers to take part in the market activity at Wilhelmplatz in Cologne. Jeffrey Ladd“s black-and-white photographs also address the local urban environment, while extending into peripheral and landscape areas.
Kathrin Esser explores landscape as a site of collective memory, an aspect that also plays a role in Paul Avis“s documentation of the „Aurora Mill“ in Cologne. This brings into focus the industrial sector that is central to NRW, which Claudia Fährenkemper and Gregor Schneider reflect upon through the example of open-cast lignite mining. While Fährenkemper documents the colossal bucket-wheel excavators situated in the landscape at the site in black-and-white photographs, Schneider visualises – through two films and a colour photographic series – the architectural and landscape forms that emerge from the immense spatial transformations caused by mining.
The human portrait in interaction with the surrounding space is a key component in the photographs Emine Ercihan created of so-called Gastarbeiter (guest workers) of the first generation in their private living spaces, evoking a chapter of West German economic history. Katharina Kemme also incorporates interior space as an element of lived experience in her portrait series on neighbourhood life in a residential block in Essen. Philip Zietmann addresses public space through the example of an urban park and its visitors. Melina Lehmacher portrays young women at a stage of life prior to making professional decisions, situated within their personal environments. Alexander Lackmann has produced portraits of people of different ages and affiliations from his personal surroundings.
While the exhibition places its emphasis on the regional, references to broader contexts are perceptible in many layers and remain central parameters beyond the present moment. It becomes clear that identity – whether of a region or of a person – is always formed by numerous factors and is therefore individual, variable and time-bound. Last but not least, it is people and their needs that form a subtext within the addressed thematic fields and are illustrated in a variety of ways.
An accompanying exhibition publication will be published by Hartmann Books (price: EUR29).
The exhibition Living Environments takes place as part of the anniversary programme 50 Years of SK Stiftung Kultur 1976-2026.
Press preview: Wednesday, 11 March at 11 a.m. (Please register via E-Mail (mailto:pr@sk-kultur.de) for the press tour) – Some artists will be present: Paul Avis, Boris Becker, Frank Dömer, Kathrin Esser, Jeffrey Ladd, Melina Lehmacher and Philip Zietmann.If you would also like to interview one of the participants, please let us know in advance.
The August Sander Archive, acquired in 1992, forms the cornerstone of the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur. It is the world’s largest collection of original works by the photographer (1876-1964). With a view to Sander’s factual and concept-oriented photography, the collection expanded to include other works by other historically important and contemporary artists that were similar to his approach. The focus is also on the photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Karl Blossfeldt, Jim Dine and many more. Regular exhibitions are programmatically based on the collection. The institution presents the August Sander Award every two years for photographers up to the age of 40.
Company-Contact
Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur
Gabriele Conrath-Scholl
Im Mediapark 7
50670 Köln
Phone: +4922188895300
E-Mail: 
Url: http://www.photographie-sk-kultur.de
Press
SK Stiftung Kultur der Sparkasse KölnBonn
Ralf Convents
Im Mediapark 7
50670 Köln
Phone: +4922188895105
E-Mail: 
Url: http://www.sk-kultur.de
Bildquelle: © Alexander Lackmann/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn