With Human Conditions, Kunsthalle Rostock presents a comprehensive retrospective of Olaf Heine – marking 30 years of visual language between music, art and culture. On view are iconic portraits of international artists as well as quiet architectural and landscape images. The Berlin-based photographer is considered one of the defining visual chroniclers of our time.
While three decades of his work are on display in Rostock, Heine continues to work in parallel: shortly before the exhibition opening, he photographed the musician Sting for the artwork of his new album at the Rijksmuseum – surrounded by works by Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and Judith Leyster. The fact that artists continue to choose him for such moments is not only due to his visual language, but also to the sense of calm and closeness he creates in front of the camera.
Trained at the Lette Verein in Berlin, Heine began his career in the post-reunification music scene. His move to Los Angeles in the late 1990s marked his international breakthrough. Since then, he has created portraits of personalities such as Coldplay, U2, Nick Cave, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto, Billie Eilish, Julian Schnabel, John Baldessari, Snoop Dogg, Anthony Kiedis and Iggy Pop.
In parallel, Heine developed a distinctive visual language in architectural and landscape photography, as well as working as a director for music videos, short films and commercials. His visual signature has shaped bands such as Die Ärzte and Rammstein over many years.
The exhibition comprises around 200 photographic works as well as spatial installations, projections and video works. The accompanying monograph Olaf Heine: Human Conditions is published by Prestel Verlag.
“The highest fulfillment of human existence seems to lie in the search for knowledge, in creativity, in communication and in social interaction. This has defined my work over the past twenty years. I wanted to find out something about human existence and bring together in a book when and in what way these especially creative people find their fulfillment,” says Olaf Heine about the retrospective.
Olaf Heine is commercially represented by Klaus Stiegemeyer.
