Opening on October 20, 2021, the Photography Study Center at the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse will present New Vision: European Photographs 1923-1955. The exhibition includes a selection of vintage photographs produced primarily in the 1920s and 1930s, between World War I and World War II in Europe. Referred to as “New Vision” photography, this time period was seen as seen as an era of alternative approaches to the medium with techniques such as the photogram, solarization, close-up and objective images. While the new vision concept extended broadly to many geographic regions, the exhibition focuses on Germany, France and Russia, the three main countries where these new considerations of the medium emerged. In addition, a few photographs from the 1950s included in the show acknowledge the continuation of these aesthetic styles into the century. 

The exhibition features a selection of works by German New Objectivity photographers including Albert Renger-Patzsch, August Sander, Werner Mantz, Hugo Schmölz and Adolf Lazi; photographs from the German avant-garde arts and design school of the Bauhaus; works by German photographer Ruth Hallensleben; in addition to rayographs by Man Ray, a selection by Alexander Rodchenko and photographs of model constructions by the students of the Russian VKhUTEMAS school. Each of the photographers displays varied aesthetic preferences in regards to using photography as either a medium for realism or experimentation. With our inclusion of these differing perspectives, we hope to show diverse approaches to image making in the early 20th Century in Europe.