This is the second part of the coverage of Art Rotterdam by John Devos, our correspondant for The Netherlands.
Ray K. Metzker US 1931–2014
The history of photography is full of figures who created fascinating works, yet have since been forgotten. Take Ray K. Metzker, for example: you’ll find very few books about him. That’s why I’m eagerly looking forward to ArtRotterdam UNSEEN, where I’ll have the chance to see his magnificent images again, presented here by the renowned Parisian gallery Les Douches.
They are organising a solo exhibition dedicated to Ray K. Metzker, a major figure in 20th-century American photography, within the section ‘The Past Present’, which focuses on analogue photography, rediscovered archives and artists who are exploring the history of the medium. At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping visual culture, this section highlights the ever-renewed power of authentic images and vintage prints.
The solo exhibition will revolve around three key aspects of Metzker’s work:
- Street photography (Chicago and Europe)
- Formal experiments, in which he deconstructs urban space through montage, fragmentation and repetition.
- The City Whispers series, in which urban space becomes a luminous composition.
In contrast to overly conventional humanist photography, Metzker has captured the essence of the city through the interplay of vertical and horizontal lines, sculpting light with a rare formal radicalism. It is worth recalling that in autumn 2024, Les Douches la Galerie presented the exhibition City Lux, dedicated to Ray K. Metzker, at the Fondation A Stichting in Brussels, curated by Françoise Morin, its director, and Philippe Séclier.
This retrospective the second in Europe following the one at the Musée de l’Élysée in Lausanne in 2007 brought together over a hundred black-and-white prints produced by the artist himself. The exhibition led to the publication of a book in English, published by Ludion, featuring around 150 photographs. Now almost out of print, this book is due to be reprinted shortly.
On show at the gallery: (I almost could have written ‘galley’): Jeux de mots Exposition collective jusqu’au 13 Mai 2026 : Berenice Abbott • Tom Arndt • Pierre Boucher • Sophie Calle • Roger Catherineau • Stéphane Couturier • Joël Ducorroy • Henri Foucault • Robert Frank • Jean-Claude Gautrand • Nicole Gravier • Hervé Guibert • Ernst Haas • Anneliese Hager • Raymond Hains • Frank Horvat • Bogdan Konopka • François Kollar • Barbara Kruger • Yvan Le Bozec • Vivian Maier • Ray K. Metzker • Duane Michals • Jean Moral • Marvin E. Newman • Roger Parry • Denis Roche • Man Ray • Joost Schmidt • Maurice Tabard • Patrick Tosani • Moï Ver • Sabine Weiss • Klaus Wittkugel
https://www.lesdoucheslagalerie.com/
John Devos
johndevos.photo (a) gmail.com
