Presented by Gagosian

Andreas Gursky is one of the most important international artists working with the medium of photography.

The filmmaker Ralph Goertz accompanied Andreas Gursky for eight years with his camera in his studio, taking photographs, in his class at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, setting up his exhibition at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and at his first retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London.

The film traces Gursky’s artistic process and provides deep insights into the work of this exceptional artist, from his beginnings in 1977 at the Folkwangschule in Essen, to his move to the Becher class at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1980 and his first free artistic works. Since the 1980s, he has continuously developed his work from analogue to digital photography, creating his own visual world. Gursky and Goertz talking about his working methods, the artist’s approach to the medium of photography and his often cited proximity to painting. This documentary is a very personal portrait that provides deep insights into his artistic work, away from the cult of the artist and the art market.

“It’s very important to me that we’re not talking about painting here, but about photography.” – Andreas Gursky

With Marion Ackermann, Beat Wismer, Ralph Rugoff, Monika Sprüth and Martin Parr.