Dirk Brömmel - Pictures, Art, Photography

Dirk Brömmel


Background Information about Dirk Brömmel

Introduction

ABOUT THE WORK

Kopfüber

Using digital techniques, Dirk Brömmel broadens the scope of our perceptions. Kopfüber (English: Headfirst) takes us to lofty heights, where the view seems much clearer. The ships Dirk Brömmel photographs from above are not the main focus, he explains. “For me, it’s about what is hidden on or behind them and making that visible.”

The photographer assembles his “reality” from many individual pictures, isolating the subject and placing it in front of a colourful background. By doing this, he creates a digital image that bends the rules of time and perspective, letting us discover more than would be possible with the naked eye. In Brömmel’s work, ships become models, studies.

MIG

The war is long-since over. Airplanes that once symbolised power have become rusty war monuments. Dirk Brömmel captures the diverse moods these symbols create. They speak of the failures of politics, the population’s hope for a better future, and of a past that won’t loosen its grip on the present.

When exhibited without the context of their surroundings, the aircraft seem like lost ideals. Bolted in place, the terror-inducing effect they had in the air seems almost forgotten. Dirk Brömmel’s pictures tell stories that remain in the collective memory.

To me, photography is the longing to hold something tight, to make thoughts tangible in the form of a picture.
Dirk Brömmel

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in 1968 in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany, Dirk Brömmel grew up on the small island of Grafenwerth on the River Rhine. At age nine, the artist began to photograph his own microcosm. After finishing a photography apprenticeship in 1993, he found his own means of artistic expression while studying art in Mainz, where he discovered all the possibilities inherent in digital image editing.

In his photographs, Brömmel aims to retain “things in their disappearance” while making “the movement of time” visible. A recipient of multiple awards, the artist now lives and works in Wiesbaden, Germany.

TECHNIQUE

Kopfüber

For his Kopfüber series, Dirk Brömmel sets up on bridges spanning rivers. There, he points his lens straight down at the water. In a burst of as many as 60 individual pictures, he captures passing ships in their entirety. Using a computer, he then assembles the pieces into a single image. Finally, he crops out everything apart from the ship, replacing the water with a monochrome background. Exhibited in this way, the ship’s decks seem like detailed and razor-sharp showcases.

Bio

1968Born in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany
1990-1993Education: Photographer, Bonn, Germany
1993-1994College of Art, Bonn, Germany
1995Excursions to America, Armenia, Bulgaria, China, Italy, France, Iceland, Thailand, Czech Republic, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Norway, South Africa
2001-2004Studied Art at the Academy of Fine Arts at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz with a focus on photography. Degree: Diploma honored by Prof. Dr. Vladimir Spacek, Mainz Germany
 2005Student of the Master Class by Prof. Dr. Vladimir Spacek, Mainz, Germany
 2006Graduation at the Academy of Fine Arts at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz
 2007Lives and works in Wiesbaden, Germany

Awards

20122nd place „Brita Kunstpreis“
2011Honors from the “Europäischen Architekturfotografie-Preis 2011“
2010Nominated for „24. Mainzer Kunstpreis Eisenturm“ - Hans-Jürgen Imiela-Gedächtnispreis
Künstler der Region, EVO-art award, Offenbach, Germany
Nominated for “Merck-Preis“, Day of the Photography 2010 in Darmstadt, Germany
2007“Marianne-Brandt-Wettbewerb“, selected works
2005 Prix du Conseil Général du Bas-Rhin
 “Reinhart-Wolf-Preis 2005“
 “17. BFF-Förderpreis“, Association of Freelance Photographers
 “Lucky Strike Junior Designer Award 2005“, Special Honors
 “Europäischer Architekturfotografie-Preis 2005“, Special Honors
2003“Emy-Roeder-Preis 2002“ Rhineland-Palatinate
2002zeitsicht 12 Hausconsulting, Most Promising Award
2001No. 1, Kodak-Fotokalender-Preis 2001 [award of the jury], 2001
“Gold Award”, Best Scenic/Other Photography, W. & N. Calender Awards, Chicago, USA
“Gold Award”, Best Use of Paper, World & National Calender Awards, Chicago, USA
“Bronze Award”, Best Scenic/Other Photography, W. & N. Calender Awards, Chicago, USA
“Destinctive Merit Award”, Art Directors Club New York
“Bronze Price”, All Japan Calendar Competition
“Kodak-Award“, 32. International Kodak Photo Contest
2000Stuttgart Calendar Show, Silver Prize
 All Japan Calendar Competition, Gold Prize
 Best Typography Merit Award
 Best Use of Paper Gold Award
 13th Polaroid Student Competition
 1st Prize for Experimental Photography
 Art Directors Club New York, Distinctive Merit Award
1999Graphis, New Talent Design Annual
1998Lufthansa AERO artist grant
 Type Directors Club New York
 Certificate of Typographic Excellence
1998International Stuttgart Calendar Show
 Prize for Experimental Design
1992Winner in the Photo Presse Cover-picture Competition

Collections

Baumüller & Co. AG, Darmstadt, Germany
Deutsche Telekom, Weiden, Germany
E.ON Kunstsammlung, Germany
Europäisches Patentamt, Munich, Germany
EVO Kunstsammlung, Offenbach, Germany
Kirschbaum Verlag, Bonn, Germany
Kunstsammlung des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Kunstsammlung Kupferberg Gold, Mainz, Germany
Kunstsammlung der Stadt Wiesbaden, Germany
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany
Lufthansa AERO, Mainz, Germany
Matisse Collection, New York, USA
Sammlung Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Tucher Stiftung, Nürnberg, Germany
Willy Brandt Haus, Berlin, Germany

Exhibitions

2013»Dirk Brömmel - Kopfüber«, Davis Klemm Gallery, Munich, Germany
SCOPE Basel, Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Switzerland
»Dirk Brömmel«, Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, Germany
»Dirk Brömmel«, Galerie Albert Baumgarten, Freiburg, Germany
2012»Dirk Brömmel – Kopfüber, Fotocollagen«, Neuffer am Park – Kunsthalle, Pirmasens, Germany
Galerie Peithner-Lichtenfels | contemporary, Wien, Austria
2011"Villa Tugendhat" - Fotografien von Dirk Brömmel, Dům umění města Brna
The Brno House of Arts, Brno, Czech Republic
"Dirk Brömmel - kopfüber", Graffit Gallery, Varna, Bulgaria
"Dirk Brömmel - Fotografien", Stadtgalerie Neu-Isenburg, Germany
„Unterwegs“, Davis-Klemm Gallery, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2010SWR Kultur im Foyer, Mainzer Museumsnacht 2010, SWR Funkhaus, Mainz, Germany
Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, Germany
Museum für Konkrete Kunst, Ingolstadt, Germany
Galerie Mariette Haas, Ingolstadt, Germany
2009Galerie Erhard Witzel, Wiesbaden, Germany
Galerie „McBride Fine Art“ Antwerp, Belgium
2008Earlybird Venture Capital, Munich, Germany
Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, Germany
Galerie Mariette Haas, Ingolstadt, Germany
Galerie Albert Baumgarten, Freiburg, Germany
2007Galerie „McBride Fine Art“ Antwerp, Belgium
„Ego – Positionen zum Ich“, Wiesbadener Fototage, Galerie Erhard Witzel, Germany
2006Galerie „McBride Fine Art“ Antwerp, Belgium
Galerie Albert Baumgarten, Freiburg, Germany
Galerie Mariette Haas, Ingolstadt, Germany
Galerie Kleines Haus, Mainzer Staatstheater, Germany
 "Villa Tugendhat“, Artothek Wiesbaden, Germany
2005 Galerie Erhard Witzel, Wiesbaden, Germany
2002Ausstellung im Goethe Institut Helsinki, Finland
 "Galerie Kleines Haus" des Mainzer Staatstheaters, Germany
1995Haus der Springmaus, Bonn, Germany
2013»One Man Show«, Messe art Karlsruhe, germany
»Frisch eingetroffen«, Davis Klemm Gallery, Wiesbaden, Germany
2012ART.FAIR 22, Messe für aktuelle Kunst, Cologne, Germany
»architekturbild. Europäischer Architekturfotografie-Preis 2011« Deutschen Wochen im Goethe-Institut in St. Petersburg, Russia
art paris, Grand Palais, Galerie Albert Baumgarten, France
art Karlsruhe, Messe Karlsruhe, Germany
2011»architekturbild. Europäischer Architekturfotografie-Preis 2011« BildungsTURM | Kulturzentrum am Münster, Konstanz, Germany
cutlog, Contemporary Art Fair, Paris, France
„IN BETWEEN. Architekturbild - Europäischer Architekturfotografie-Preis 2011“, vhs-photogalerie, Stuttgart, Germany
Spurensuche - Ivaylo Stoyanov und Dirk Brömmel, Goethe-Institut Bulgaria
art paris, Grand Palais, France
art Karlsruhe, Messe Karlsruhe, Carlsbad, Germany
201024. Mainzer Kunstpreis Eisenturm im MVB-Forum, Germany
PREVIEW BERLIN ¬– The Emerging Art Fair, Flughafen Berlin Tempelhof, Germany
Kunstmesse „art bodensee“, Dornbirn, Austria
Galerie im Turm, EVO-Kunstgalerie, Offenbach am Main, Germany
art paris, Grand Palais, Paris, France
cutlog, Contemporary Art Fair, Paris, France
2009„Visions“, Galerie Hengevoss-Dürkop, Hamburg, Germany
cutlog, Contemporary Art Fair, Paris, France
Berliner Liste, Palais am Tiergarten, Germany
KIAF, Korea International Art Fair, South Korea
art paris, Grand Palais, Paris, France
art Karlsruhe, Messe Karlsruhe, Carlsbad, Germany
„Work Places“, Kunstgalerie Ruse, Rousse, Bulgaria
2008Kunstverein Freiburg „DASSOLLKUNSTSEIN vol. 6“ mit der Galerie Albert Baumgarten, Germany
„Arbeitsplätze / work places“, Goethe-Institut Singapore, Republic of Singapore
„Work Places“, photokina Köln, Cologne, Germany
Galerie im Theater, „Kunsträume Bayern“, Ingolstadt, Germany
2007„Marianne-Brandt-Wettbewerb“, Sächsisches Industriemuseum Chemnitz, Germany
„4. Berliner Kunstsalon“, Netzwerk Brömmel, Kostolov, Stoyanov, Berlin, Germany
„Ningbo in the Eyes of Germany Photographers“, Ningbo Museum of Art, China
„Große Kunstausstellung München 2007“, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
„VOYAGE“, unterwegs zwischen hier und dort. Kunstverein Kreis Soest e. V. im Museum Wilhelm-Morgner-Haus in Soest, Germany
2006„Architektur im Liegen“, 5. Rheinischer Wettbewerb der Architekturfotografie, A L’Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Architecture de Strasbourg, France
„Arbeitsplätze / work places“ Europäischer Architekturfotografie-Preis 2005 im Museum der Arbeit, Hamburg, Germany
„Ausgezeichnete Fotografie“ im Haus der Wirtschaft, Stuttgart, Germany
2005„Kunstpreis der Stadt Bonn“, Künstlerforum Bonn, Germany
„Arbeitsplätze / work places“, Kasseler Architekturzentrum im Kulturbahnhof, KAZ im Kuba, Kassel, Germany
„BFF-Förderpreisträger“ Internationales Fotofestival Pingyao, Shanxi Provinz, China
„New German Photography“ der Editionsgalerie Lumas beim Fotofestival Rencontres d’Arles, France
„Die Nacht der Bilder“ in der Galerie 21 bei Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg, Germany
„Klasse Spacek“ im Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Germany
Kunsthaus „Prinz-Carl“ Worms, Germany
Galerie Erhard Witzel, Wiesbaden, Germany
DG-Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany
"Klasse Spacek" im Haus der Kunst der Stadt Brünn, Germany
2004Gruppe Tape10 im U.F.O., Frankfurt, Germany
2003 Gruppe kunstlicht bei der kurzen Nacht der Museen und Galerien, atelier dreimann, Wiesbaden, Germany
 "Junge Rheinland-Pfälzische Künstlerinnen und Künstler", Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
 Tape 10 "ElectroVillage" im Museum für angewandte Kunst, Cologne, Germany
2001Ausstellung der Aktionsgruppe "Vene Hammerschlag", Wiesbadener Hauptbahnhof , Wiesbaden, Germany
1998Permanent exhibition in the offices of Lufthansa AERO, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
1996Permanent exhibition in Galerie Kupferberg, Mainz, Germany
1995"Haus der Springmaus", Bonn, Germany