Art Calendar 27. January 2022
Bryan Adams comes to the Osthaus Museum Hagen
with "Exposed" - Aufrichtige Portraits
February 2022
Sergeant Rick Clement in "Wounded: The Legacy of War"
©Bryan Adams
The dignity of the human being is inviolable.
(Grundrechte, Article 1)
The world-famous singer, songwriter and artist Bryan Adams had numerous greats of international show business such as Amy Winehouse, Mick Jagger, Mickey Rourke or Kate Moss in front of his camera. Even Queen Elizabeth II agreed to be photographed by the Canadian musician - next to two pairs of rubber boots. The resulting photo subsequently made it onto a Canadian postage stamp. But Bryan Adams not only portrays pop culture icons, but also wounded war veterans and homeless people.
Under the title "Exposed", the Osthaus Museum Hagen is dedicating itself to the photographic work of Bryan Adams from 20 February to 24 April 2022. The retrospective presents more than 180 works from three different series: "Exposed", "Wounded: The Legacy of War" and "Homeless". The director of the museum, art historian Dr Tayfun Belgin also recently hosted a Hollywood star, Sylvester Stallone's retrospective was very well received by the public and art critics.
Exposed" is organised in cooperation with the Düsseldorf gallery Geuer & Geuer Art.
EXPOSED
In his cycle "Exposed" Bryan Adams shows the self-confidence and vulnerability of world stars behind the glamorous façade of showbiz. Whether a dreamy, fragile Amy Winehouse or an exhausted-looking Mickey Rourke on an elegant chaise longue - the viewer senses that two artists have met here who have already experienced numerous ups and downs of life in the limelight and trust each other - an important prerequisite for a sincere portrait.
The ever-changing moods and trends associated with fame in our modern world are also revealed in his works. And they speak to us of the beauty and desire hidden behind the smooth surface of glamour.
At the same time, Adams also demonstrates a sense of humour and irony: Dustin Hoffman in a dinner jacket and bow tie fishing in the sea. Victoria Beckham in high heels on a bicycle. Or as already mentioned: The Queen and the wellies.
But Bryan Adams is much more than a photographer who has captured famous personalities from the world of entertainment, fashion, politics and art. This is shown in his series "Wounded: The Legacy of War": young British soldiers who have returned from missions in Afghanistan and Iraq with mutilated limbs, prostheses and burn scars look bravely, defiantly and with dignity into his camera. Anyone who has seen these unsparing images will not soon forget them. For they bear witness to the visible and invisible lifelong consequences of war.
In Homeless, Bryan Adams turns his attention to those who live on the fringes of society: his portraits show people with no fixed abode in London who sell the homeless magazine The Big Issue. He compassionately and respectfully raises awareness of their plight while emphasising the inestimable value of each individual. All proceeds from his work and the accompanying book go to the Bryan Adams Foundation.
Selfportrait Bryan Adams
©Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams: "Exposed
Osthaus Museum Hagen in cooperation with Geuer & Geuer Art
Museumsplatz 1
58095 Hagen
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams (born 1959 in Canada), world-famous as a musician and composer, has gained an outstanding reputation as a photographer in recent decades. He has received numerous international prizes and awards from renowned institutions such as the Royal Photographic Society in London and has worked for magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Interview Magazine, i-D and Esquire.
Osthaus Museum Hagen
The Folkwang Museum opened its doors in the Westphalian industrial town of Hagen in the summer of 1902. It owed its foundation to a wealthy man with an appreciation of art: Karl Ernst Osthaus. The Folkwang soon achieved fame as the world's first museum for contemporary art.
The museum aims to interest and inspire people in South Westphalia, the Ruhr region and throughout Germany for the Osthaus Museum, its important collection of modern and contemporary art and its special exhibitions. The Osthaus Museum therefore offers a high quality of stay and conveys an awareness of art in an entertaining and lively way - close to the public and visitor-oriented.
and visitor-oriented - an awareness of art and the constitutive role of the viewer.
About Geuer & Geuer
Dirk Geuer, managing director of Geuer & Geuer Art GmbH, has been working as a curator, exhibition organiser and publisher of exclusive editions in Germany and abroad since 1989 and is already the third generation of his family to be active on the art market. As an art publisher and publisher of high-quality, limited and hand-signed sculptures and graphic editions, Dirk Geuer works with artists such as Günther Uecker, Heinz Mack, Julian Schnabel, Tony Cragg, among others.
