The first milestone of photography in the 21st century

It is nothing less than the proclamation of an epochal artistic work, one of the great works, a series that later generations would regard as a ­milestone in the 21st century ­because it is not just the zenith of art, but also the very pinnacle of its own era. Michael Schmidt has been ­working on this series for many years; he has gathered these views on his extensive travels through Europe as if as a matter of course – images that will ­affect every viewer. The artist is not concerned with sensations, with the shots and the shocks of the topic ­itself, but more about an in­di­vi­d­ual, balanced composition, repre­sen­tation and sequence of images of an artwork whose thematic focus concerns many people: Food. And this means production on an industrial scale. Anybody browsing through this incisive portrait of our basic needs for life will realise that ­Michael Schmidt is able to show our world with ­empathy even in foodstuffs de­prived of their functionality.

Exhibitions:
Museum Schloss Morsbroich, Leverkusen, 3/3–13/5/2012
Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, 15/6–26/8/2012
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 12/1–1/4/2013