Kicken Berlin

Kaiserdamm 118 | Berlin | Art Region: Berlin, Charlottenburg

Since 1974 Kicken Berlin has been setting standards in the innovative presentation and promotion of the medium photography. Today the gallery is still guided by the mission of its founder, Rudolf Kicken (1947-2014): to invite photography to enter into productive dialogue with other artistic media, and thus to convey to an international audience the importance of photography as an art form.

One of the gallery’s strengths is its diversity. Many of the major names in photography dating from the beginnings of the medium in the 19th century have been presented in the gallery program. The focus, however, lies in the 20th century, particularly on the German and Czech avante-garde of the twenties and thirties as well as the outstanding masters of the genre. Also the subjective photography/fotoform movement of the fifties, West and East German photography, fashion photography, German New Topographics and postwar conceptual as well as few selected contemporary positions are core emphases. The discovery of new or previously overlooked photographic and artistic work is a special area of interest. As a result, the gallery has presented the shining stars of the history of photography as well as anonymous snapshots and exceptional images from functionally oriented photography. The estates managed by the gallery, including those of Erwin Blumenfeld, Ed van der Elsken, Heinrich Kühn, Rudolf Koppitz, Helmar Lerski, Heinrich Riebesehl, and Umbo, among others, are of particular importance.