"Bäume vor meinem Fenster II"

gelatin silver print on cardboard

titled, dated, and signed (pencil), estate stamp on verso

A medical doctor and self-taught photographer, Otto Steinert discovered anew the artistic potential of photography by integrating experimental innovations from the 1920’s avant-garde art movements into the photographic medium. Dominating the photographs of Otto Steinert is not the picture subject itself, but rather his subjective take on the subject matter, which he frequently altered. This has the effect of drawing the viewer away from the subject and directing attention towards rich contrasts, the inherent characteristics of light itself, and competing shapes and forms. Using long exposure times, he created snapshots that appear to defy time and space – fleeting imagery of moving objects and people that appeared to be simultaneously present and absent.
Claudia Wente, Kicken Gallery, Berlin