‘Urban space’, i.e. the urban environment that is directly tangible, is arguably one of the most dazzling motifs in photographic images. Street. Life. Photography explores the unrelenting fascination that this topic exerts on photography in the 20th and 21st century, giving rise to its own distinctive genre, i.e. street photography.

The exhibition comprises 52 photographic positions with more than 320 works that explore key topical aspects of street photography in kaleidoscopic chapters: Street Life, Crashes, Public Transfer, Urban Space, Anonymity, and Alienation.

Classics of street photography from Diane Arbus and Robert Frank to Lee Friedlander, William Klein and Martin Parr are showcased at the exhibition alongside young international and Austrian photographers such as Mohamed Bourouissa, Harri Pälviranta, Alex Dietrich, and Lies Maculan. Contemporary photographers are thus able to encounter iconic figures from the history of photography in a direct, vibrant dialogue, providing insights into the different staging options which the observation of the public space allows in both past and present. Besides works from the F.C. Gundlach Collection and the Falckenberg Collection the exhibition also combines countless other works on loan as well as joint ventures with contemporary artists. The exhibition is complemented by documentary films and a 250 page catalogue published by Kehrer Verlag.