In celebration of Magnum in May, the Bruce Silverstein Gallery is pleased to present the work of Swiss photographer Werner Bischof, one of the great photojournalists of the mid-twentieth century. WERNER BISCHOF: A RETROSPECTIVE, opening March 18, will include more than thirty vintage and non vintage photographs – most of which come directly from the artist’s estate and have never been displayed to the public. In terms of quality and human commitment, Bischof’s photographs in the Du, Life and Paris Match publications set new standards in photojournalism, and continue to influence photographers today. He joined the world famous photographers group Magnum Photos in 1949, where his work and personal integrity have become touchstones for the values and ethics of the legendary organization.
WERNER BISCHOF: A RETROSPECTIVE marks the 50th anniversary of the loss of Bischof during the Korean War, and follows the landmark exhibition "Werner Bischof Photographs: 1932-1954” held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this February 2004.
Born in Zürich, Switzerland, on April 26, 1916, Werner Bischof began his artistic studies attending drawing courses Normal School of Schiers. But after one year, the he entered the School of Art of Zurich, where he studied under Hans Finsler. Under Finsler “New Objective” approach to photography, the camera’s was a tool for recording and exploring details and similarities between natural and man made objects. For example, the man made carved scroll of a violin (Carved Scroll, Zhurich, 1932), clearly recalls the turnings of a nautilus shell.
In 1936, Bischof opened a photography and advertising studio, which he ran until his military service in the Swiss Army in 1939. Following his service, Bischof documented scenes around Europe in the aftermath of World War II. In 1949, after joining Magnum, Bischof continued to focus on what he called the “face of human suffering.” One of his most well known photo-essays, Famine in India, was published in Life magazine the same year. He also completed assignments in Korea, Okinawa and Japan. He covered the stories of refugees from Mao’s China and the war in Indochina. Bischof's numerous landmark photo essays in such publications as Life and the Swiss periodical DU established him as an accomplished journalist, but his highly refined aesthetic, his art, is his singular identity. Bischof died in May 1954, at the age of thirty-eight, while on assignment for Magnum and Life.
