Leica Hall of Fame

“I have photographed people in all their diversity and have come to know much of the world only through my camera,” says Herlinde Koelbl, who was honoured with the Leica Hall of Fame Award at this year’s Celebration of Photography. “I am delighted that through this recognition, the spotlight has also been turned on my Leica – the tool with which many of my images were created.”

As well as discussing her life’s work during a press conference on the day of the ceremony, the artist also delved into her fascinating oeuvre in an engaging lecture the night before.

Over the past five decades, Koelbl has created a body of work that is exceptionally multi-layered. She always pursues her topics with intense dedication, usually publishing long-term projects in the form of monographs and extensive accompanying exhibitions. Her very first book, Das Deutsche Wohnzimmer (The German Living Room), released in 1980 and conceived as a sociological study, was already a major success. Its combination of documentary images with personal statements by the protagonists has become a hallmark of Koelbl’s work.

Particular acclaim was earned by her publication Jüdische Porträts (Jewish Portraits). First released in 1989, the project combines black and white images with long interviews the photographer conducted with survivors of the darkest chapter in recent German history – interweaving personal and collective experiences in a profound and nuanced manner.

Regardless of her chosen theme, Koelbl always succeeds in conveying her ambitious, stylistically highly diverse long-term projects to a wide audience, and thereby open up a broader dialogue about a range of sociopolitical topics – be it through series such as High Society, Clothes make the Man, Bedrooms, Hair, Traces of Power, Artist Portraits, Writers’ Hands or Metamorphoses, all of which are represented in the current exhibition. 

The showcase, which is on view at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar until 19 January 2025, features around 50 excerpts from ten series, offering illuminating insights into the photographer’s prolific life’s work. The image selected for this year’s Leica Picture of the Year stems from Koelbl’s Metamorphoses series.

LFI 8.2024 dedicates a portfolio to the artist on the occasion of the Leica Hall of Fame Award. She was also previously featured in the magazine’s Leica Classics section in LFI 8.2019.