Bernhard Hartmann

Havana. Just saying the name evokes images of bright Caribbean colors, American cars with fins from the 50s, and once-glorious buildings fallen into ruin. Now that this socialist island country is open once more, this picture will soon change. Now is the time to pause for a moment and take a closer look at Cuba s capital city. Bernhard Hartmann starts on the streets, showing us cafes, shops, and boxing clubs, but he also takes us behind the facades of the mansions, whose well-worn charms immediately captivate the viewer. Crumbling plaster, cracked walls, worn stair treads we see all of this in the pictures, and yet these places are vibrant and alive. Traces of bourgeois life, dignified and stylish, survive despite the adversity, masterfully captured in brilliant photographs."

New York is probably the most photographed city in the world. It is hard to resist the fascination for the Big Apple, and many have tried to visually capture the singularly unique "Empire State of Mind." It's not just the classic landmarks that belong to an emotional portrait of the metropolis, but also the bustling life in the urban canyons of Manhattan and its neighborhoods. And this is why Bernhard Hartmann never approaches New York City from just one perspective. He employs multiple angles: brilliant studies that make the sculptural details of architectural icons, both old and new, come alive, alongside snapshots of ephemeral, shadowy pedestrians hurrying by on rain-soaked asphalt illuminated by neon sign reflections. Hartmann is especially taken with the city's lights, as his black-and-white photos twinkle in an almost magical way. His colour photographs possess a near hypnotic quality that make the nighttime neon-lit streets feel like an homage to decades past, and his aerial photos almost tangibly pull you into the scene. Despite the technical refinement and exquisite detail of Hartmann's photos, their unequalled atmospheric intensity is what truly makes them special: he combines the latest photographic techniques with the glamour of historic pictures. The result is a dazzling, contemporary portrait of the most amazing city in the world, one that-like your own first visit to New York-you will never forget.