There is a refreshing sort of emptiness when looking at the photographic works of Noé Sendas. In a time where the processes of self-defining and asserting identity have acquired great popularity, Sendas subverts this current by showing us human figures whose definition is anything but concrete. Making use of existing material and digital manipulation, the artist creates deconstructions that question both the meaning of photography as well as the prevailing notions of time, identity and authorship. The images make us travel through unknown paths, searching for what’s hidden behind the missing faces. What looks familiar at first, quickly becomes absurd and intriguing. I think this is a good way to say goodbye here. Thanks for your time. Enjoy the trip. Support Der Greif! noesendas.com

"No new photographs until the old ones have been used up!" The statement, made by Joachim Schmid in 1989 during the 150th anniversary of Daguerre's invention of photography, raises questions that seem more relevant and valuable than ever before. Schmid has this remarkable ability to bring inanimate photographs back to life and discover treasures where others saw rubbish. I first came across Joachim Schmid's work through his Photogenetic Drafts, from 1991. As one of the pioneers working with found photography, he started in 1990 the project First General Collection of Used Photographs, which was the basis for Photogenetic Drafts. Composed from negatives, discarded and sliced in two by a studio photographer to prevent their further use, these photo-collages are a fascinating treatise on the life and death of images. schmid.wordpress.com

I found it quite appropriate to start with an artist that I recently discovered at the VeneKlasen/Werner gallery in Berlin. Jeff Cowen’s photographs are anything but obvious. His carefully constructed, large-scale works conform neither to mass media nor to typical art photography. If you happen to be Berlin these days, don’t miss the opportunity. The exhibition is on till the 8th of March. VeneKlasen/Werner Rudi-Dutschke-str. 26 10969 Berlin Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm www.jeffcowen.eu

mg class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25093" alt="..." src="http://dergreif-online.de/www/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/intro_mission.jpg" width="1000" height="649" /> Hello everyone and thank you for checking out this blog. Over the next days I will present a selection of images by some artists whose work particularly stood out for me. Although I can't completely agree with the saying A picture is worth a thousand words, I believe these pictures don't necessarily need to be explained or understood by intellectualising. These are in fact the works that interest me most: those that make you stop thinking and start feeling. Enjoy the break.