Front on, lit up, and slightly awkward: this is how the protagonists in the works of Dutch photographer, Rineke Dijkstra, stand before us. Tonight (07.11.2024), the Berlinische Galerie opens its retrospective “Rineke Dijkstra. Still – Moving. Portraits 1992-2024“. At first glance, Dijkstra’s work seems direct. She places her subjects front and center, allowing them to choose their poses. Then, she waits, pressing the shutter at moments in between, when people don’t know where to put their hands when their gaze is a little lost in the lens, or when a chosen pose, held just a bit too long, takes on a peculiar stiffness. In this way, Dijkstra captures subtle gestures and honest moments that hover between conscious posing and unconscious posture. Despite a hyper-staged aesthetic, she seeks authentic expressions that reveal something essential about identity.
“Rineke Dijkstra. Still – Moving. Portraits 1992-2024” presents her timelessly contemporary style through video material and, in some cases, previously unseen images across eight series. Among them are her celebrated series “Parks,” where children and young people are captured among the lush greenery of urban parks; “Almerisa” and “Olivier (The French Foreign Legion),” which follow two individuals from different backgrounds over years as they grow and change; “Family Portraits,” which explores the family photograph genre; and “New Mothers and Bullfighters,” which depict intimate and raw moments alike. Dijkstra remains true to her visual language, evoking a profound familiarity with the unknown. Dijkstra’s art appeals to all, and on Sunday (17.11. 15-17h), a special children’s vernissage with a free family program will accompany the exhibition, adding to the main opening on 07.11.
Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Rineke Dijkstra / Credit: Galerie Max Hetzler, Marian Goodman Gallery and Galerie Jan Mot
Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstr.124–128, 10969 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Rineke Dijkstra 08.11.2024–10.02.2025. Opening 07.11.2024
@berlinischegalerie
