Bernd and Hilla Becher

Water Towers (New York, United States), 1978–79

The German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher (1931–2007; 1934–2015) changed the course of late twentieth-century photography. Working as a rare artist couple, they focused on a single subject: the disappearing industrial architecture of Western Europe and North America. Their objective style resonated with the serial approach of contemporary Minimalism and Conceptual art. 

Using a large-format view camera, the Bechers methodically recorded blast furnaces, winding towers, grain silos, cooling towers, and gas tanks with precision, elegance, and passion. Their rigorous, standardized practice allowed for comparative analyses of structures that they exhibited in grids of between four and thirty photographs.

This posthumous retrospective is shown with the minimalist works by Carl Andre and Sol LeWitt. As you leave the exhibition you see how the Becher's fit so well into contemporary sculpture.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue  July 15 – November 6, 2022