Wolfgang Tillmans
Engadin III
2012
Inkjet print on paper
framed: 12 x 16 in (30.5 x 40.6 cm)
Wolfgang Tillmans (b. 1968, Remscheid, Germany) works in photography and since the late 1980s, developed an influential approach to photography as “arranged with the deceivingly casual precision and emotional impact of a perfect pop song.” Engadin III was originally exhibited in Tillmans’ solo show, “Central Nervous System” at Maureen Paley in 2013.
central nervous system presents a renewed exploration into portraiture for Tillmans and focuses on a single subject throughout the show. This new collection of images has not been exhibited before and is as much an intimate portrait of a nuanced relationship as it is a portrait of Tillmans himself.
– Press release, “CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM,” Maureen Paley, London, October 14 – November 24, 2013
Making a portrait is a fundamental artistic act and the process of it is a very direct human exchange. The dynamics of vulnerability, exposure, embarrassment and honesty do not change, ever. I’ve found that portraiture is a good leveling instrument for me and it always sends me back to square one.
The appearance of nude bodies and cropped body parts – of friends hanging out in trees, dancing at raves, or peeing while drunk – is very common in Tillmans’ oeuvre. The central nervous system show also recalls Tillmans’ 2000 series, Circle Line, Central Line, or Piccadilly Line:
They present tightly cropped views of subway passengers, reflecting the sanctioned closeness and intimacy of anonymous people within an extremely limited space. Armpits gape, legs cross each other, hands wrap around a pole from all directions in a kind of counterpoint. This emotionless proximity of closely pressed bodies is a theater of clothed and unclothed body parts whose lead roles are played unwittingly by people en passant.
Provenance
Regen Projects, Los Angeles
See also
Wolfgang Tillmans at Galerie Buchholz
Wolfgang Tillmans at Regen Projects
Wolfgang Tillmans at Maureen Paley
Wolfgang Tillmans at David Zwirner
“Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear,” MoMA, New York, September 12, 2022 – January 1, 2023
“Wolfgang Tillmans: 2017,” Tate, London, February 15 – June 11, 2017