Sayart.net - FOTOHOF Archives Presents Major Exhibition of Austrian Photographer Wolf Suschitzky′s Work Exploring Life in Exile

FOTOHOF gallery has launched a significant exhibition showcasing the photographic work of Wolfgang Suschitzky, highlighting the historically important artistic contributions of an Austrian-born photographer whose life was profoundly shaped by forced migration and exile. Wolf Suschitzky, who passed away in London in 2016 at the remarkable age of 104, left behind a substantial body of work that has now found a permanent home at FOTOHOF archiv through a loan arrangement established in 2018. The exhibition, titled "Wolf Suschitzky: No Resting Place," represents the first major public presentation of materials from Suschitzky's estate, which are being systematically catalogued and made accessible to researchers and the general public. Rather than attempting a comprehensive retrospective of the photographer and cameraman's extensive career spanning from the 1930s through the early 21st century, the exhibition takes a more focused approach. The curators have chosen to examine the theme of "Work" as it appears throughout Suschitzky's photography, tracing how this subject matter remained a constant thread throughout a life marked by displacement and emigration. Wolfgang Suschitzky was born in 1912 into a Jewish family deeply committed to Vienna's social democratic movement. His father played a founding role in establishing the Anzengruber Verlag publishing company and helped create the first social democratic bookshop in Favoriten, a working-class district of Vienna. Both of these institutions were forced to shut down following the Anschluss, when Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany in 1938. While many members of his family were murdered by the National Socialists during the Holocaust, Wolf Suschitzky managed to survive by fleeing to Britain. He had the foresight to leave Austria as early as 1934, recognizing the dangerous political developments occurring under the Austro-fascist corporate state that preceded Nazi occupation. Once established in London, Suschitzky became deeply involved with the British documentary film movement, which was gaining prominence during the 1940s and 1950s. Working alongside Paul Rotha, a pioneer of the documentary genre, Suschitzky contributed his cinematographic skills to several influential films. Notable among these collaborations were "World of Plenty," released in 1943, and "No Resting Place," completed in 1951. Through these projects, he became a leading figure in a cinematic movement dedicated to creating naturalistic portrayals of social conditions and everyday life. However, it was through his still photography rather than his film work that Suschitzky most powerfully expressed his artistic vision and social consciousness. His photographic interests closely aligned with the subjects that had previously occupied his father's publishing house, focusing on the lives and struggles of working people. Suschitzky developed a reputation as a careful, objective observer of social contexts, though he was never detached from the human subjects of his work. He once reflected on the inherent challenges of documentary photography, noting that "a photographer who sympathizes with social conditions and comes into contact with human suffering usually has to take sides." This philosophical approach is clearly evident throughout Suschitzky's body of photographic work, which maintains an objective documentary style while never losing sight of human dignity and respect for his subjects. The photographs currently displayed at FOTOHOF demonstrate this particular quality that characterizes Suschitzky's historical approach to social documentary photography. His images provide a photographic record of what he described as "a restless world shaped by incessant toiling." These photographs offer viewers insight into living and working conditions across different countries and cultures, while simultaneously revealing the photographer's own character as an unwavering humanist. The exhibition organizers note the tragic irony that such a committed humanist would not have been able to survive in his native Austria due to the rise of fascism and anti-Semitism. The exhibition is accompanied by the first publication to emerge from the FOTOHOF archiv, a comprehensive book titled "Wolf Suschitzky: Work." This 128-page volume features approximately 100 image plates and includes scholarly texts by Peter Schreiner and Kurt Kaindl, providing context and analysis of Suschitzky's photographic legacy. The book is available for purchase at 25 euros. "Wolf Suschitzky: No Resting Place" runs from July 17 through September 26, 2020, at FOTOHOF, located at Inge Morath Platz 1-3 in Salzburg, Austria. Additional information about the exhibition and related programming is available through the gallery's website at www.fotohof.net.