Karsten Thormaehlen

Karsten Thormaehlen (born July 28, 1965) is a German photographer, editor and creative director. He currently lives in Wiesbaden.

Karsten Thormaehlen
Thormaehlen in Ötztal, Tyrol, Austria, 2015
Born (1965-07-28) July 28, 1965
Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany
(now Germany)
EducationFachhochschule Wiesbaden (now RheinMain University of Applied Sciences), 1988–1993, Wiesbaden, Germany
Occupationportrait photographer, still life photographer, Creative director
Years active1985－present
Known forPortraits of Centenarians (2006–present)
StylePurism, beauty of aging, Documentary photography
Spouse(s)Michaela Thormaehlen
(2000–present)
Websitewww.karstenthormaehlen.com

Family

Thormaehlen was born into a family with many influential personalities of Germany's 20th century art scene. His great-grandfather Emil Thormaehlen (1859–1941) was an architect and principal of the arts and crafts schools Magdeburg and Cologne. He was also co-founder of Deutscher Werkbund.[1] One of his two sons, Ludwig Thormaehlen (1889–1956), was a Professor of Art History, a sculptor and between 1914 and 1933 a curator at the Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin. Among other artists he was befriended with Edvard Munch and Erich Heckel, a member of the expressionist artist's group Brücke.[2] His great-great aunt Alexe Altenkirch[3] (1871–1943) was a painter and a graphic designer at Zanders Papers. She once had been photographed by August Sander for his famous series People of the 20th Century.

Life and work

Thormaehlen grew up in Bad Kreuznach and Bingen am Rhein. After a commercial apprenticeship and civilian service he studied Philosophy, Art History, Political science and Graphic Design in Mainz and Wiesbaden, where he graduated with honors in 1993.[4] Between 1994 and 1998 he worked as an art director and photographer for a German owner-managed advertising agency in New York City, where he developed advertising campaigns and directed TV-commercials.

Thormaehlen's freelance portrait projects include Jahrhundertmensch[5] (2008), Happy at Hundred[6] (2011), Aging Gracefully (2017) and Silver Heroes[7] (2009). They have been published as books and have been exhibited in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Thormaehlen's works "Erika E., born in 1910", and "Susannah M. Jones, at age 116", were chosen for the exhibitions by the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the 2011 and 2016 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prizes. His work has been included in The Guardian.[8]

He works as a commercial photographer, taking portraits. Since 2010, he has worked as an assistant professor, lecturer and guest speaker at various universities, academies and photo festivals, including the RheinMain University, the Academy of Visual Arts Frankfurt or Fürstenecker Fototage.[9] In 2017 he was invited to the artist-in-residence program at the University of Zurich's Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IREM).

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions
  • 2009: Karsten Thormaehlen: Silver Heroes, Frankfurt City Public Health Department, Frankfurt, Germany[10]
  • 2010: Karsten Thormaehlen: Jahrhundertmensch, MMK 3, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Germany[11]
  • 2014: Karsten Thormaehlen: Pioniere der Zukunft, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland[12]
  • 2014: Karsten Thormaehlen: Aktiv in die Zukunft, DOSB Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, Dominikanerkloster, Frankfurt, Germany[13]
  • 2015: Karsten Thormaehlen: Happy at Hundred, Toranomon Hills, Tokyo, Japan, 16–18 April 2015[14]

Group exhibitions
  • 2004: Im Rausch der Dinge, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland[15]
  • 2005: The Nature of Skin, Kunsthaus Hamburg, Barlach Halle K, Hamburg, Germany[16]
  • 2011: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London[17]
  • 2016: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London[18]
  • 2018: Pink is the New Grey, Weltkulturenmuseum, Frankfurt, Germany[19]

Publications
  • Rome. Kempen, Germany: teNeues, 2004. ISBN 978-3-8238-4578-2.
  • Jahrhundertmensch. Frankfurt, 2008. ISBN 978-3-00-025096-5.
  • Happy at Hundred. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2011. ISBN 978-3-86-828243-6.
  • Silver Heroes. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2012. ISBN 978-3-86-828303-7.
  • Aging Gracefully. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2017. ISBN 978-1-45-214533-4.
  • 100 Jahre Lebensglück. Munich: Knesebeck, 2017. ISBN 978-3-95-728072-5.

Awards
  • ADC New York[20]
  • Black & White Spider Awards [21]
  • Best of Business to Business Award [22]
  • Cannes Lions Festival[23]
  • Clio Awards[24]
  • D&AD London[25]
  • Deutscher Alterspreis[26]
  • DSA Design Award Tokyo [27]
  • The Lucie Awards
  • IPA Awards
  • Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris[28]
  • Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize[29]

References
  1. Universität Magdeburg. "Prof. Emil Thormählen". Retrieved 1 March 2005.
  2. Zeit Online. "Prof. Ludwig Thormaehlen". Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  3. Frauengeschichtsverein. "Alexe Altenkirch". Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  4. berufsfotografen.com. "Freier Fotograf Karsten Thormaehlen". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (bpb). "Jahrhundertmensch – Ausstellung mit Tiefencharakter". Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  6. My Modern Met. "Joyful Portraits of Centenarians That Are Happy at One Hundred". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. My Modern Met. "Who needs a bus pass? Meet the silver sportsmen and women still going for gold..." Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  8. The Guardian. "The 100-year-old couple – still married, still going strong". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  9. Frankfurter Rundschau. "Lehrreiche Blicke hinter die Kulissen". Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  10. fokussiert.com. "Karsten Thormaehlen: Silver Heroes". Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  11. artslant magazine. "Karsten Thormaehlen: Jahrhundertmensch". Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  12. Photography-now.com. "Pioniere der Zukunft - Glücklich altern auf Sardinien". Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  13. DOSB. "Aktiv in die Zukunft". Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  14. Metropolis Japan. "Karsten Thormaehlen: Happy at Hundred". Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  15. Fotostiftung Schweiz. "Im Rausch der Dinge - Vom funktionalen Objekt zum Fetisch in Fotografien des 20. Jahrhunderts". Retrieved 4 September 2004.
  16. Kunsthaus Hamburg. "Exhibitions & Events". Retrieved 4 September 2004.
  17. ephotozine.com. "Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 Exhibition". Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  18. The Guardian. "Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize – in pictures". Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  19. Monopol. "Frankfurter Weltkulturen Museum sucht Exponate zum Thema Alter". Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  20. The Stable. "ADC 96th Annual Awards – Finalists Posters" (PDF). Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  21. Black and White Spider Awards. "11th Annual Spider Fellows: Karsten Thormaehlen 'Emma II'". Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  22. presseportal.de. "Kampagne 'Die 100-jährigen kommen' der Bayerischen erhält Auszeichnung in Gold". Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  23. theinspirationroom.com. "Breast Cream That Gives You Wrinkles". Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  24. "New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation & Skinfoods - A cream that gives you wrinkles". Clio Awards. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  25. "A Cream That Gives You Wrinkles". D&AD.org. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  26. "Diese alten Athleten brechen Rekorde!". Bild.de. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  27. "Bio Masaaki Hiromura". Hiromura Design Office. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  28. "1899". px3.fr. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  29. The Guardian. "Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize – in pictures". Retrieved 16 November 2016.

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