Jitka Hanzlova

Jitka Hanzlová is an internationally recognized Czech-born photographer based in Essen, Germany. Hanzlová first gained acclaim with her project Rokytník (1990-94) for which she returned to her hometown following a decade in exile. This melancholy collection of portraits and landscapes exemplifies her interest in the seemingly simple, familiar things that she asserts are in fact most complicated.

Rokytník became a foundation from which to explore themes of identity and place and the tensions between the individual and group, belonging and alienation, as well as past and present. These interests were expressed while photographing varied subjects such as her urban adopted home of Essen (Bewohner, 1994-96), Afro-Caribbean women living in London (Brixton, 2002), the woods she explored as a child (Forest, 2000-05), and the unfamiliar landscapes, architecture, and culture of the Gifú prefecture in Japan (Cotton Rose, 2004-05).

Hanzlová’s most recent series, There is Something I Don’t Know (2000-12), reasserts her interest in portraiture and the creation of timeless representation. These portraits of contemporary Europeans assuming archetypal poses before a simple background pay homage to early Renaissance masterpieces. The result is a body of work that is gratifyingly both “of today” and atemporal.
 

Jitka Hanzlová was born and raised in Czechoslovakia before emigrating, in 1982, to Essen, Germany where she studied Communication Design at the University of Essen and where she continues to live and work. She has garnered many awards including the 2003 Grand Prix Award – Project Grant, Arles and the 2007 BMW – Paris Photo Prize for Contemporary Photography. Her photographs are found in internationally renowned collections including the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Her work has been the subject of numerous group and solo exhibitions including an upcoming show, There is Something I Don’t Know, at Yancey Richardson Gallery (Oct 25 – Nov 24).