WANAFOTO: Helmut Newton Foundation

Showing posts with label Helmut Newton Foundation. Show all posts

26/08/25

Newton, Riviera & Dialogues. Collection FOTOGRAFIS x Helmut Newton @ Helmut Newton Foundation at the Museum of Photography, Berlin

Newton, Riviera & Dialogues. Collection FOTOGRAFIS x Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton Foundation at the

Museum of Photography, Berlin

September 5, 2025 – February 15, 2026

Helmut Newton

Grand Hôtel du Cap, Marie Claire, Antibes 1972

Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton, Untitled, Saint-Tropez 1975

In summer 2022, Foundation Director Matthias Harder co-curated the solo exhibition "Newton, Riviera" with Guillaume de Sardes for the historic Villa Sauber in Monte-Carlo. It was the first time this late residence of the Newtons and the region where many iconic Helmut Newton photographs were created was given in-depth attention. A selection of that exhibition is now being presented—parallel to "Dialogues. Collection FOTOGRAFIS x Helmut Newton”—at the Berlin foundation.

At the turn of 1981/82, Helmut Newton and his wife June moved from Paris to Monte Carlo. This relocation not only changed their main residence to the French Mediterranean coast but also dramatically shifted the perspectives and backgrounds of Newton's commissioned work. From then on, it wasn't the casual or elegant Parisian chic but the more glamorous society that he photographed—often juxtaposed against the concrete walls of construction sites in Monaco as a backdrop for fashion shoots.

Newton's fascination with the French Riviera started much earlier. As early as 1964, he and June bought a small stone house near Ramatuelle, close to Saint-Tropez. From then on, they spent their summers there, engaging in intense artistic work. The exhibition unites a large number of early, sometimes unique vintage or lifetime prints. During the 1980s and 1990s, cities like Cannes and Nice were also popular locations for Newton’s striking fashion shoots. He also visited other parts of the Riviera, such as Cap d’Antibes, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Menton, and even across the border to Bordighera, Italy. He created works across his three main genres—fashion, portrait, and nude—with the intense light in these images often playing a central role.

Helmut Newton

American Vogue, Monaco 2003

Helmut Newton

Jude Law, Monaco 2001

Helmut Newton also occasionally photographed at night from his apartment balcony in Monaco, capturing the quiet, dark sea. Similar melancholic landscape photographs were created in Berlin in the mid-1990s and culminated in one of his last gallery exhibitions titled "Sex and Landscapes" in 2001 at the Galerie de Pury & Luxembourg in Zurich, which also posthumously opened his Berlin foundation in June 2004. By presenting these large-format original prints in the current "Riviera" exhibition, the circle closes again—over 20 years later. Newton’s very last photo shoot, a fashion editorial for Italian Vogue, also took place on the Mediterranean coast of Monaco. One of the images now appears as a giant wall mural in the new exhibition, which—despite more than 100 photographs—can only offer a small glimpse of this important body of work.

Diane Arbus

The King and the Queen of a Senior Citizen Dance,

NYC, 1970

Courtesy Collection FOTOGRAFIS,

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Helmut Newton

Hanna Schygulla and costume designer Edith Head,

Los Angeles 1980

In recent years, the Helmut Newton Foundation has featured not only solo and themed group exhibitions but also photographic collections—"Between Art & Fashion" (Carla Sozzani Collection, 2018) and "Chronorama" (Pinault Collection, 2024). Both were exceptionally curated and featured major icons of photographic history.

Weegee (Arthur Fellig)

The Critic – Mrs. Cavanaugh and Friend about to enter

the Metropolitan Opera House, New York 1943

Courtesy Collection FOTOGRAFIS,

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Helmut Newton

Blumarine, Monaco 1994

The current collaboration with the "Collection FOTOGRAFIS" from Bank Austria Kunstforum Vienna continues this approach. It consists of over 60 diptychs. Inspired partly by the newsletter of the Collezione Ettore Molinario—which presents two photographs from the Milan collection in dialogue—selected photographs from the prestigious Viennese collection now engage in a thought-provoking visual conversation with works from the Helmut Newton Foundation archive.

Helmar Lerski

Ohne Titel, ca. 1935

Courtesy Collection FOTOGRAFIS,

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Helmut Newton

Close-up, Italian Vogue, Bordighera 1982

Curators Bettina M. Busse (Kunstforum) and Matthias Harder (Helmut Newton Foundation) paired the works based on intuition and association. Two photographs are always shown side by side: portraits, still lifes, landscapes, architecture, or surrealistic fashion and nude photographs from entirely different eras. Sometimes the connection is formal, sometimes thematic. Occasionally, the pairing may seem arbitrary or humorous, but each one opens a vast imaginative space for the viewer.

Etienne Carjat

Charles Baudelaire, 1863

Courtesy Collection FOTOGRAFIS,

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Helmut Newton

Jack Nicholson, Los Angeles 1985

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe

Excitement, ca. 1888

Courtesy Collection FOTOGRAFIS,

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Helmut Newton

Eva Herzigová, Blumarine, Monaco 1995

"Dialogues. Collection FOTOGRAFIS x Helmut Newton" presents various facets of humanity and the evolution of social life over a century—through pairings of Newton’s photographs with works by Diane Arbus, Alfred Stieglitz, Margaret Bourke-White, Elliott Erwitt, Florence Henri, Duane Michals, Paul Strand, Man Ray, August Sander, Judy Dater, Otto Steinert, and many other renowned names in 19th- and 20th-century photography. These often complementary or contrasting image pairs have never been shown together before.

HELMUT NEWTON FOUNDATION

MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Jebensstrasse 2, 10623 Berlin

www.smb.museum

20/07/25

Polaroids @ Helmut Newton Foundation, Museum for Photography, Berlin

Polaroids

Helmut Newton Foundation, Museum for Photography, Berlin

Extended through August 17, 2025

The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin presents a group exhibition, Polaroids. This showcase features works by Helmut Newton alongside numerous other photographers.

Helmut Newton

Italian Vogue, Monte Carlo 2003 (SX-70)

Helmut Newton

Amica, Milan 1982 (Polacolor)

Helmut Newton

Cindy Crawford, American Vogue, Monte Carlo 1991 (Polacolor)

Helmut Newton

French Vogue, Yves Saint Laurent, Paris 1977 (Polacolor)

With works by Jean-François Bauret, Michael Belenky, Mario de Biasi, Jim Bengston, Philippe Blache, Thorsten Brinkmann, Diana Blok/Marlo Broekmans, Lawrie Brown, Francesco Carbone, Elisabetta Catalano, Lucien Clergue, Share Corsaut, Barbara Crane, Davé, Alma Davenport, Jean-Claude Dewolf, Judith Eglington, Stephan Erfurt, Nathan Farb, Sandi Fellman, Franco Fontana, Klaus Frahm, Toto Frima, Verena von Gagern, Maurizio Galimberti, Luigi Ghirri, Ralph Gibson, Leonard Gittleman, Hans Hansen, Erich Hartmann, Charles Johnstone, Peter C. Jones, Tamarra Kaida, Sachiko Kuru, Edgar Lissel, Anne Mealhie, Sally Mann, Sheila Metzner, Nino Migliori, Tom Millea, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Mark Morrisroe, Floris Neusüss, Arnold Newman, Helmut Newton, Werner Pawlok, Martha Pearson, Gérard Pétremand, Marike Schuurman, Stephen Shore, Jeanloup Sieff, Pola Sieverding, Neal Slavin, Christer Strömholm, Karin Székessy, Oliviero Toscani, Ulay, William Wegman, Mario Eugen Wyrwinski.

Jeanloup Sieff

Self-portrait on car, 1977 (Polaroid T665)

The Polaroid process revolutionized photography in the 1960s. Those who have used Polaroid cameras often recall the distinctive smell of the developing emulsion and the magic of watching an image materialize instantly. Depending on the camera model, some prints developed automatically, while others required the application of a chemical coating to fix the image. In this sense, Polaroids can be seen as a precursor to today’s digital photography – not in technical terms, but because of their immediate accessibility.

Polaroids are generally regarded as unique prints. This pioneering technology attracted enthusiastic users worldwide and in nearly all photographic genres – landscape, still life, portraits, fashion, and nude photography. Helmut Newton was particularly captivated by Polaroid photography, using a variety of Polaroid cameras and instant film backs, which replaced the roll film cassettes in his medium-format cameras. From the 1960s until his death in 2004, Helmut Newton relied on Polaroids primarily to prepare for fashion shoots. These instant photographs served as visual sketches, helping to test lighting conditions and refine his compositions. Despite their role as preparatory studies, Newton dedicated a book to these images in 1992, followed by a second book published posthumously in 2011. Some of Newton’s Polaroids, signed as standalone works, have since become highly prized on the art market.

Judith Eglington

Masked Woman, 1973 (SX-70 Polaroid)

Alma Davenport

Warwick, Rhode Island, 1978 (Polaroid T 808)

Steven Shore

Ohne Titel, 1980 (Polaroid T 808)

The archive of the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin holds hundreds of Newton’s original Polaroids. A carefully chosen selection from this collection has been curated and accompanied by enlargements of select works. The photographs are arranged roughly chronologically rather than by genre, but they reveal Newton’s extensive use of Polaroid cameras across all areas of his work over several decades. The exhibition is like peering into the sketchbook of one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. It invites visitors to envision Newton’s creative process, from initial concepts to finals images.

Sandy Fellman

Trophy, Tokio, 1984 (Polacolor 20 x 24)

William Wegman

Ohne Titel, 1988 (Polacolor 20 x 24)

In this group exhibition, Newton’s Polaroids are showcased alongside works by 60 additional photographers, including selections from the extensive Polaroid collection of OstLicht in Vienna. Curator Matthias Harder had full freedom to draw from this historic archive, which was saved from auction in 2010 by Peter Coeln, founder of WestLicht Vienna, following Polaroid’s bankruptcy. This international collection, stored at the Polaroid company for more than 20 years, comprises approximately 4,400 works by 800 photographers and has since been reestablished as a vital resource.

The Berlin exhibition highlights a wide variety of Polaroid processes and formats – SX-70, Polacolor 20 x 24, FP-100, and Polaroid T808 – as well as experimental treatments of individual prints and larger tableaux.

Pola Sieverding

Valet #54, 2014 (Integralfilm / Polaroid)

German artist Pola Sieverding is represented by her small-format SX-70 Polaroid series Valet, which features close-up views of male wrestlers.

In contrast, Italian artist Maurizio Galimberti is known for his monumental Polaroid mosaics, a physically demanding process in which he obsessively circles his subject – whether a person, a building, or a flower – capturing tiny details in individual images. He later assembles these fragments into unified compositions that appear three-dimensionally unfolded.

Marike Schuurman

aus der Serie Toxic (Bergheider See PH 3), 2022

(SX-70 / Inkjet-Print)

Two series by Dutch artist-photographer Marike Schuurman also explore experimental techniques, featuring inkjet print enlargements derived from SX-70 Polaroids. Toxic examines the lignite mining area in the Lausitz, south of Berlin, where coal extraction has left craters filled with highly acidic water. Schuurman photographed these artificial lakes using a Polaroid camera and developed the SX-70 prints in the lakes’ low-PH water, dramatically altering their colors. In her second series, Expired, the colors of long-expired Polaroid film merge into one another, creating a distinctive interplay.

Charles Johnstone

Lea, South Salem, New York, 2021 (FP-100c Polaroid)

New York City-based photographer Charles Johnstone produces small-format Polaroid publications at irregular intervals, each presenting a self-contained photographic narrative. Some projects, such as those centered on Monica Vitti, are captured as camera views from a screen and later bound into books. Other series, like Escape, involve collaboration with live models and were photographed en plein air at locations like a swimming pool in upstate New York. These projects result in unique artist’s books, some of which include C-prints of the Polaroids as special editions. A selection of these books is on view in a central display case within the exhibition.

Sheila Metzner

Michal, Mermaid, 1980 (Polacolor)

American photographer Sheila Metzner, known for her timeless and sensitive portraits, still lifes, and nudes – produced as Fresson prints – has previously exhibited her work at the Helmut Newton Foundation. Now, for the first time, her Polaroids are being presented. Drawn from the Newtons’ personal collection, these instant images provide insight into Metzner’s creative process, revealing her use of Polaroids as compositional studies – a technique similar to Helmut Newton’s approach.

HELMUT NEWTON FOUNDATION

MUSEUM FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

Jebensstrasse 2, 10623 Berlin

helmut-newton-foundation.org