Photography Exhibition: The Gasteig HP8 As Seen By Hans Georg EschThe Gasteig Turns 40
Unfamiliar perspectives on Munich’s premier arts centre: Having pursued the challenge of capturing the essence of urban buildings and entire megacities in photography since 1989, Hans Georg Esch is one of the world’s most sought-after architectural photographers. For several years now, he has been documenting both the general refurbishment of the Haidhausen Gasteig and the interim Gasteig HP8 in Sendling.
Unfamiliar perspectives on Munich’s premier arts centre: Having pursued the challenge of capturing the essence of urban buildings and entire megacities in photography since 1989, Hans Georg Esch is one of the world’s most sought-after architectural photographers. For several years now, he has been documenting both the general refurbishment of the Haidhausen Gasteig and the interim Gasteig HP8 in Sendling.
As part of the Gasteig’s 40th anniversary season, you can view a selection of his often surprising works in a double exhibition at the Gasteig and the Gasteig HP8 entitled Kultur erleben – Architektur sehen (Experience Culture – Seeing Architecture). The exhibition can be seen in the Aspekte Galerie of the Münchner Volkshochschule adult education centre and on the exhibition wall in Hall E of the Gasteig HP8. The exhibition launch will take place on 5 February from 7 PM.
In the course of several photo shoots, Hans Georg Esch has captured the Gasteig HP8 in photographs from its opening in autumn 2021 until today: the former transformer hall, now converted into a foyer and library, as well as the Isarphilharmonie and the other buildings on site. The combination of old and new, of industrial design and modern concert hall results in an exciting mix that inspires architects and cultural managers alike as well as providing many interesting motifs for a photography pro like Esch.
Images of small details and bird’s eye views alike reveal the geometric diversity to be discovered in what are ostensibly merely three-dimensional structures. Materials, transitions and perspectives combine to create images that appear at times almost abstract. The functional features of the Gasteig HP8 transform into forms, textures and colours, revealing often unseen aspects of its architecture. Where others simply pass by on their way from one place to another, Esch discovers fascinating detail. Blink and you’ve missed it, but the photographer captures the moment for eternity. The resulting images turn an otherwise familiar place into something unfamiliar and new. Forever in search of special angles, lines, colours and textures, Esch captures discoveries, in the true sense of the word, that reveal surprising details that usually remain unnoticed.
“We photographers don’t just documenting the present. We also provide new perspectives on everything.”
Hans Georg Esch, born in Neuwied in 1964, and his team are based in Hennef near Cologne. Following his series on megacities and his “architectural views” of Pompeii and, most recently, Cologne Cathedral, he is now exhibiting photographs of the Gasteig and Gasteig HP8.
The twin exhibition Hans Georg Esch sieht den Gasteig with architectural highlights of the “old” Gasteig in Haidhausen will already open on 23 January.
