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Heinz Hajek-Halke (1898 - 1983) is one of the most important German photography artists of the 20th century.
Born in Berlin, raised in South America, his activities in Berlin during the 1920s and 1930s were numerous. He worked as a press illustrator, photo reporter, picture editor, and advertising photographer. During this period, the subject matter and the experimental nature of his photographic work reflected the realities of the modern city. At the time of the Nazi regime, Hajek-Halke withdrew to Lake Constance and produced zoological and documentary images.
After 1945, his initial interest in experimental photography continued. The completely free handling of photographic material—the negative as an object served as a basis for successive alienations, material additions, and overexposures of all kinds— which leads here into the abstract, the informal, the photograms of Christian Schad or Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, or the photographic images related to subjective photography, which Hajek-Halke called “Light Graphics” Hajek-Halke printed all of his vintage prints. The work on the negatives and the execution of the prints were both conducted and controlled by him—to the point of perfection.
This first presentation, which will be shown as part of the Berlin Photo Week 2021, gives an insight into his multi-layered experimental work. On display is a selection of vintage photographs.
This exhibition is curated by Simone Klein.
The Heinz Hajek-Halke Estate aims to preserve the artist's work in the best condition possible whilst making it accessible to the public for it to find its rightful place withinthe discourse of contemporary art and photography.