Friederike von Rauch - The-calling-of-Zaccheus-sitting-in-a-Fig-Tree-by-Otto-van-Veen-2011

Friederike von Rauch

Sleeping Beauties

07/12/2012

26/01/2013

Gallery FIFTY ONE

Fifty One Fine Art Photography proudly presents ‘Sleeping Beauties’, the latest series of Friederike von Rauch.

Alone in the museum. Friederike von Rauch (Germany, 1967) explores European museums after the regular opening times, in complete calm and solitude. The masterpieces on the walls vanish into the darkness while the sparse light entering through the open doors creates an abstract centreline on the parquet floor.

Exceptional places are von Rauchs favoured working area. In previous series, such as ‘Sites’ and ‘Transept’, she focussed on extraordinary locations, for example Art Deco-buildings in Brussels and the industrial landscapes of Rotterdam. In 2009 the book ‘Neues Museum’ was published, in which she displays fragments of the restoration process of the Neues Museum in Berlin by architect David Chipperfield. The building or the architecture are not the main subject, but the spaces itself are. Although most people would just walk past it, her composing gaze makes the places unique.

Read the full press release here.

Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 3, Antwerp, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 3, Antwerp, 2011, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - SKD 8, Dresden, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - SKD 8, Dresden, 2011, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - SKD 13, Dresden, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - SKD 13, Dresden, 2011, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - SPSG 7, Potsdam, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - SPSG 7, Potsdam, 2011, Archival pigment print, 150 x 150

Friederike von Rauch

Friederike von Rauch was trained as a silversmith and studied industrial design at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. After working as a location scout for international film productions, which had a strong impact on her curiosity for spaces, she began to focus on her own work in the early 2000s. Since then she has been concerned with space, atmosphere and slowness, and the reduction and concentration of light.

Friederike von Rauch photographs buildings. A complete building or merely a detail. The building on its own, or within its surroundings. The interior or the exterior. Her photographs are meticulously stylized. The framing and the angle are chosen with care. There is also a clear play of lines and sometimes a striking contrast between the concrete-grey surfaces and vibrant color.

Van Rauch describes herself as an intuitive photographer. Her work is not so much about buildings. It’s about spaces. She looks for spots that, to her, are exceptional, but that most people walk by without even a glance.

biography

Born in Freiburg, Germany in 1967
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Visit artist website here

Friederike von Rauch - National Galerie 2, 2009
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 11, 2015
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 11, 2015, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Silence

In her photographs the silence is the first thing that strikes you. The silence, however, does not equal quiet. There is a tension to the silence. This tension grows from the absence of people; despite the unbreakable link between buildings and human beings. Buildings are made by people and are used by them. The lack of a human presence deprives the buildings of their functionality. The buildings in her photographs are no longer buildings, but monumental sculptures.

As a photographer, she is clearly attracted to spaces. These spaces have to be empty, because that is when, for her, their beauty is best appreciated. Von Rauch however does not intervene in the environment; everything has to stay exactly as it is. So she never asks people to leave the space when she wants to photograph it. That is why there is still a human presence in her work. The spaces have been abandoned, but there is always the possibility that someone might show up. This uncertainty makes these photographs so alien and so exciting at the same time.

Friederike von Rauch - Tiziano 1, 2022
Friederike von Rauch - Tiziano 1, 2022, Archival pigment print, 70 x 66,5 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Tiziano 2, 2022
Friederike von Rauch - Tiziano 2, 2022, Archival pigment print, 70 x 56 cm
Friederike von Rauch, Trinity VII, 2021
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity VII, 2021, Fine art Print, cut, mounted on cardboard, elevated parts, in a shadow gap., 38,8 x 32,8 cm
Friederike von Rauch, Trinity VIII, 2021
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity VIII, 2021, Fine art Print, cut, mounted on cardboard, elevated parts, in a shadow gap., 48,8 x 39,8 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity XIII, 2021
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity XIII, 2021, Fine art Print, cut, mounted on cardboard, elevated parts, in a shadow gap behind museum glass, 57 x 46 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity IV, 2021
Friederike von Rauch - Trinity IV, 2021, Fine art Prints, cut, mounted on cardboard, elevated parts, in a shadow gap, 56,5 x 46 cm
Friederike von Rauch - SGM 1, 2018
Friederike von Rauch - SGM 1, 2018, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, framed with shadow gap, 75 x 75 cm
Friederike von Rauch - SGM 2, 2018
Friederike von Rauch - SGM 2, 2018, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, framed with shadow gap, 75 x 75 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Tourette 15, 2014
Friederike von Rauch - Tourette 15, 2014, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, framed with shadow gap, 110 x 110 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Tourette 3, 2014
Friederike von Rauch - Tourette 3, 2014, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, framed with shadow gap, 110 x 110 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Roosenberg 2, 2015
Friederike von Rauch - Roosenberg 2, 2015, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Roosenberg 4, 2015
Friederike von Rauch - Roosenberg 4, 2015, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 9, 2015
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 9, 2015, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 8, 2015
Friederike von Rauch - Maria RM 8, 2015, Archival pigment print, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - KDF 1, 2013
Friederike von Rauch - KDF 1, 2013, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, 50 x 50 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Transept 15, 2013
Friederike von Rauch - Transept 15, 2013, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, framed with shadow gap behind museum glass, 75 x 75 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Knokke 7, 2009
Friederike von Rauch - Knokke 7, 2009, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium. framed behind museum glass., 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - Berlin 11, 2005
Friederike von Rauch - Berlin 11, 2005, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 12, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 12, 2011, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, 100 x 100 cm
Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 11, 2011
Friederike von Rauch - KMSKA 11, 2011, Archival Pigmentprint on Fine Art Paper, mounted on aluminium, 100 x 100 cm