„Wald | Licht“

Photo art at the LUMAS Gallery

These are impressive images of natural beauty that the artist Ralph von Kaufmann captures in his ‘Forest|Light’ series: Horizon lines dissolve into the endless expanse of the sea, at times fog envelops the expansive landscapes and diffuse light falls through the dense treetops onto the fairytale world of the forest. In powerful images, von Kaufmann shows his beech forests peacefully and full of depth.

The photographer creates mysterious, alluring images that are as sensual as they are rigorously arranged. ‘Especially in the summer months, these beech forests are bathed in a very special light and are often surrounded by thick fog due to the temperature differences between land and water,’ he explains his fascination for the unique natural backdrop. The monumental black and white works allow the viewer deep insights into the winding paths of the forest. This is precisely where the special appeal of his works lies. Von Kaufmann opens up an enraptured, transfigured world for us and leaves us room to wander off in his contemplative visual language: The forest as a place of silence. This is how effectively the photographer is able to stage the landscape.

The artist has taken photographs on Rügen, for example in the UNESCO-protected Jasmund National Park or on Wittow. However, he only finds his subjects in certain stretches of coastline. This is because Ralph von Kaufmann is on the lookout for tall beech forests that have been largely spared from human influence. Such unspoilt landscapes can be found in eastern Germany and Denmark in particular.

‘A photographic encounter with a tree or a forest is something special. For Ralph von Kaufmann, being well prepared means equipping himself with the bare essentials: the technology - camera and exposure, film and printing options - is the craft he has mastered. Knowing the place where he will be photographing is just as important as checking the weather forecast and the map. He then finds what he is missing in the encounter itself. To enter the place with sensitivity, not only to see and measure the light there, but to feel how it paints the motifs in interaction with wind and air. Ralph von Kaufmann lets the moments take effect on him, each one allowing him to immerse himself more and more in the world in which he wants to take his pictures. To feel and see how a picture is formed from light and motif, and then to capture the moments that he has perceived in front of and around him in such great variety - that is his great art!

Not to have the chance to score a few hits with as many of these moments as possible - no! Consciously capturing the single most striking and valuable ones is his way of creating photographs that make the viewer pause to immerse themselves in these moments.

It is thanks to his way of photographing that we - the viewers of his pictures - are allowed to be in the places, to participate in the photography, to ultimately be a part of this art.’

Oliver Rolf, Platinum