Elger Esser

photographer

Elger Esser is a prominent German photographer born in 1967 in Stuttgart. He was one of the last and youngest graduates of the renowned Bernd and Hilla Becher class at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts. His work often explores landscapes, riverscapes, bridges, villages, and seacoasts, characterized by a poetic and melancholic aesthetic that evokes memories and 'déjà vu'. Esser is known for his interest in historical photographic techniques, such as heliogravures and old lithographic processes used for postcard production, which he employs to create images that exist between the present and an imagined past. His work has been exhibited internationally, including major retrospectives at institutions like the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.[1,2,3]

Themes

  • landscape
  • memory
  • time
  • heliogravure
  • melancholy

Works by Elger Esser

  • Eigenzeit 2009 · Schirmer/Mosel Verlag GmbH · book · German / English ISBN 3829604181 Catalog for the exhibition at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.
  • Nocturnes à Giverny 2009 · Schirmer/Mosel Verlag · book
  • Wrecks 2009 · Eigenverlag · book Düsseldorf: self-published.

Exhibitions

  • 2009 Eigenzeit Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Stuttgart solo
  • 2010 Eigenzeit Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, Arnhem solo
  • 2014 Combray The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Tampa solo

References

  1. Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. 2009 link
  2. Elger Esser. Wikipedia link
  3. Schirmer/Mosel. 2010 link