"Encounters and Coincidences" - Benjamin Katz

Benjamin Katz has been accompanied by many of his artist colleagues since the 1970s, including Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter. He has documented countless art openings, art actions, and encounters with contemporary artists, and created portraits of prominent figures such as Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman. His archive is perhaps the most extensive collection of contemporary artist portraits. This is the well-known side of the chronicler Benjamin Katz - the portraits of visual artists that made him famous.

Throughout his career, Benjamin Katz has also captured other subjects: humorous details, minimalist architectural shots, and quirky still lifes. In these images, he does nothing different from his portraits. He is a patient observer and grateful collector. He understands the quality of individual moods and facets that later have the ability to tell their full story in the image. Looking back, the photographer himself considers his documentary details to be just as important as the widely published portrait shots. And in recent years, a new subject matter has captured his attention: floral still lifes. In a completely unassuming manner, he documents a series of evolving flower arrangements on his kitchen stove.

The exhibition at the Leica Gallery Stuttgart brings together the various facets of Benjamin Katz, showcasing some previously unseen images from the archive intentionally. Benjamin Katz himself demonstrates the transformation of his photographic archive and artistic oeuvre through changing perspectives and reader interpretations.

The Leica Gallery Stuttgart is participating in this exhibition as part of the Fotosommer Stuttgart, which takes place from July 19 to 27, 2024 under the theme TRANSFORMATION. www.fotosommer-stuttgart.de