Frank Döring: German Sculpture

“Sculptures have a paradoxical effect on my sense of history. They are contemporaries even if they are not contemporary.
I hope that my photographs convey some of this historical complexity.

—Frank Döring (b.1959)
Lexington, Kentucky  2014

Until 2000, German-born photographer Frank Döring pursued an academic career in philosophy while nurturing his growing interest in photography. Eventually, he realized that he could reach a wider and more diverse audience through photography than through teaching or professional writing. 

Döring is interested in sculpture for its artistic characteristics and as a focal element in urban landscapes. Berlin and Potsdam, two cities that endured massive devastation during World War II, have an astonishing wealth of outdoor sculpture. Public art ranges from elegant nineteenth-century Neoclassicism and Socialist Realism to contemporary raw-and-gritty makeshift works of art.

During the fall of 2002, Döring photographed parts of Berlin, traveling on foot or by public transportation. He developed the negatives in the bathroom of his tiny rental apartment but did not print the contact sheet until early 2003 in the United States. While on a return visit to Berlin, he realized that many of the images on the contact sheet focused on the human figure. Döring was intrigued by the unflinching, self-assured presence of these sculptures within the landscape, prompting him to continue photographing public art in Berlin and Potsdam.

Döring has received grants and fellowships in support of his work from numerous organizations, including the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Frank Döring lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky. 

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