The Formal Vocabulary of Constructivist Architecture

The photographer Christine Erhard’s (b. Crailsheim, 1969; lives and works in Düsseldorf) work delves into the history of the depiction of architecture, and specifically of early-twentieth-century German modernism and constructivist and brutalist structures. Her compositions are inspired by archival research, in which she unearths photographs that typically show architectonic spaces, modernist buildings, or cityscapes. These two-dimensional images often become models for plastic constructions, which are themselves photographed so that different levels of reflection and reality overlap. In exhibitions, Erhard arranges her pictures in installations that transpose them back into three dimensions, for a vivid experience of the dialectical interplay between depiction and physical space. The photographic image emerges in these installations as a body hovering between flat ornament, the illusion of depth, and sculptural presence.

The extensive monograph gathers the artist’s most important works as well as new pieces. With essays by Christin Müller and Prof. Dr. Georg Imdahl.