About the exhibition
THE WALTHER COLLECTION is considered one of the world’s most renowned collections of global photography. INTO THE UNSEEN marks the final major presentation of the collection in Europe before 6,500 works are gifted to THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York. The exhibition unfolds a poetics of the unseen through artistic works and vernacular photographs that focus on spirituality, trauma, transformation, and multisensory perception.
Featuring works by, among others, Cang Xin, Em’kal Eyongakpa, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Santu Mofokeng, Eadweard Muybridge, Jo Ractliffe, RongRong, Berni Searle, and Yang Fudong, as well as a new sound work by photographer Felipe Romero Beltrán and a new photo installation by artist Ana María Gómez López.
Catalog
The accompanying catalogue, edited by Tina M. Campt and Nadine Isabelle Henrich, will be published by Steidl Verlag in December 2025. With essays by Nadine Isabelle Henrich, Tina M. Campt, Shawn Michelle Smith. Ana María Gómez López along with contributions by Artur Walther and Felipe Romero Beltrán. This publication offers a curatorial and theoretical framing of the exhibition Into the Unseen – The Walther Collection and seeks to question and expand how we engage and encounter photography by proposing conceptual and curatorial strategies that highlight a multisensorial and affecting approach to this complex medium.
Booklet
Accompanying the exhibition, a booklet is available in the gallery spaces. It guides visitors through the chapters of the exhibition and provides in-depth insights into the artistic positions as well as theoretical and poetic perspectives on the unseen.
Featuring texts by Nadine Isabelle Henrich and Tina M. Campt. Available in German and English editions.
Photo Albums
As part of the exhibition, various photo albums are on display, raising questions of memory, identity, and visibility. They tell stories, organize relationships, and preserve emotions.
In this playlist, visitors can digitally browse the albums and explore the narratives inscribed within them – from private family archives to artistic and historical collections.
