Gursky’s work resembles that of Wall’s, not in style or technique, but merely on size. Born in 1955 in Leipzig, Germany, he was the son of a commercial photographer, giving him the chance to learn the tricks from a young age. It was at the Staatliche Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf however that he really mastered the art under the influence of Bernd and Hilla Becher. At the beginning, he was part of a movement of Becher students that slowly began to break into the photographic world.
But Gursky’s talent was more than evident and soon differentiated himself from the minimalistic compositions of Becher and developed his own style with rich colors, large scale and plenty of detail. His early work documented the travel and leisure world, with hundreds of people imposed as details in immense landscapes, resembling patterns on a canvas. He later moved into more industrial and contemporary subjects such as warehouses, parliaments, office and hotel structures, capturing in detail and vivid colors humans and object from all corners of the worlds (Shanghai, Brasil, Los Angeles,Hong Kong) emphasizing the effect of capitalism and globalization in modern life.
Gurksy has (at the moment) the exclusive characteristic of having created the most expensive photograph in the world. It is ironically called “99 Cent II” and was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in February of 2007 for $3,346,456. He is also responsible for the 8th most expensive photograph ever sold (“Unitled 5” for $559,724). The full list of the most expensive photographs of all time will be posted here soon…
