FORTY FACES - 40 years of people photography by Ralf Schultheiß
Special exhibition
1 December 2021
– 6 March 2022
From 1 December 2021 to 6 March 2022, the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen will present a photo exhibition with forty works by German photographer Ralf Schultheiß on the occasion of his 40th anniversary as a photographer. Over the coming three months, visitors will encounter large-scale ‘people photographs’ at different locations in the museum, against a backdrop that marries the old with the new as well as industrial architecture with contemporary design. The photos date from a period of four decades. In individual portraits and group pictures, they show ‘normal’ people and celebrities alike, including portraits of actor and Fassbinder muse Hanna Schygulla and of musical artists Trude Herr and Gianna Nannini from the 1980s, photographs of fashion designers Wolfgang Joop and Giorgio Armani as well as of Donald Trump from the 1990s before he became the US President.
“Ralf Schultheiß has the ability to capture the unique essence of the people he photographs,” explains Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot. “So we are delighted to be able to show a retrospective of his work in the Red Dot Design Museum”.
Photographer Ralf Schultheiß
Born in Essen in 1952, Ralf Schultheiß started out as one of the first students to study visual communication under Professor Willy Fleckhaus at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. A communication designer, Fleckhaus not only trained Schultheiß’ eye but also informed the visual aesthetic in West Germany for a long time. After completing his studies, Schultheiß began his career as a photographer at Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin before going freelance in 1981. Over the past forty years, Schultheiß has photographed people all over the world – commissioned by such well-known clients as Getty Images and “Stern” magazine. The exhibition “Forty Faces” has been curated by Schultheiß himself and provides an insight into his life’s work.
Admission: 9 € (Reduced: 4 €)
Children under 12: Free admission
Fridays: Pay what you want
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Public guided tours: "Colours of Our Time"
The Red Dot Design Museum offers a half-hour public tour at 2 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m. each Sunday. Participation is free of charge (however, the normal museum admission fee must be paid).
Please note: The tour will be conducted in German!
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