Karl Blossfeldt
Beguiling, striking and architectural, the work of Karl Blossfeldt still sits comfortably in the landscape of contemporary art.
From 1898-1932, Blossfeldt taught sculpture based on natural plant forms at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. Botanical art has inspired artists for centuries, but Blossfeldt developed techniques to elevate the art even further.
"Nature educates us into beauty and inwardness and is a source of the most notable pleasure." Karl Blossfeldt
Karl Blossfeldt - Self Portrait
What made Blossfeldt's work special was his technical mastery of photography. He specialised in macrophotography, a technique devised to enlarge his plant specimens. He even designed a camera for this purpose enabling the viewers to look at ordinary flowers in a new light. The camera could enlarge the specimens up to 30 times their original size in order to reveal the structure of veins in a leaf or the repetitive patterns in a plant.
'KARL BLOSSFELDT 1865-1932' -Hans Christian Adam
Blossfeldt's work acted as a teaching aid and inspiration for architects, sculptors and artists. He believed that the key to solving design issues lay in the heart of nature and studying its forms was the future of contemporary design.
A selection of Blossfeldt's work will be shown in an online exhibition on the Michael Hoppen Gallery Website from 7 SEP - 26 OCT 2019