Distilling History

Barbara Klemm

January 13, 2025

The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA) presents works by one of Germany’s leading press photographers: Barbara Klemm. Light and Dark. Photographs from Germany can be seen in Leipzig until 23 March 2025.
Most of the images shown in this exhibition were taken for Germany’s FAZ newspaper, where Barbara Klemm worked from 1959 onwards – initially as a lab assistant and in plate production, later (from 1970) as an editorial photographer with a focus on politics and features. However, rather than capturing short-lived pictures of current affairs, Klemm created lasting insights into the key aspects of life in the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR. 

At the heart of the showcase are photographs taken in East and West Germany before and after the reunification. The featured themes range from politics, culture and business to everyday life and social realities, from protests and demonstrations to migration, mass events and scenes captured in urban spaces. With an unerring instinct for the essence of a situation, Klemm created images that reveal far more than what is depicted on the surface. In her own words, her photographs show the “distillation of an event” – and, therefore, the distillation of history itself.
Katrin Ullmann
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Barbara Klemm

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© Gustav Eckart

Born on December 27, 1939, in Munster, Klemm grew up in a family of artists: her father, Fritz Klemm, was a Professor at the Art Academy in Karlsruhe, who introduced her to photography. In 1958 she completed a photo internship at Julia Bauer’s portrait atelier in Karlsruhe. In 1959 she began work in the photo laboratory of the FAZ newspaper; first photos as a freelancer were published; from 1970 to 2005, full-time editorial photographer for politics and features. Numerous publications and exhibitions. Number of awards (incl.): Dr. Erich Salomon Photography Award, the Hessian Culture Award, and the city of Frankfurt on the Main’s Max Beckmann Award; Leica Hall of Fame 2012. Barbara Klemm lives in Frankfurt on the Main. More

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Distilling History

Barbara Klemm