Karsten Thormaehlen Explained

Karsten Thormaehlen
Birth Date:	1965 7, df=yes
Birth Place:	Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany (now Germany)
Education:	Fachhochschule Wiesbaden (now RheinMain University of Applied Sciences), 1988–1993, Wiesbaden, Germany
Occupation:	portrait photographer, still life photographer, Creative director
Years Active:	1985–present
Known For:	Portraits of Centenarians
Style:	Purism, beauty of aging, Documentary photography
Spouse:	Michaela Thormaehlen (2000–present)

Karsten Thormaehlen (born 28 July 1965) is a German photographer, editor and creative director. He lives and works in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Early life and education

Thormaehlen grew up in Bad Kreuznach and Bingen am Rhein. After a commercial apprenticeship and civilian service he studied Philosophy, Art History, Political science and Graphic Design in Mainz and Wiesbaden, where he graduated with honors in 1993.^[1]

Photography

Between 1994 and 1998 he worked as an art director and photographer for a German owner-managed advertising agency in New York City, where he developed advertising campaigns and directed TV commercials.

Thormaehlen's freelance portrait projects include Jahrhundertmensch^[2] (2008), Happy at Hundred^[3] (2011), Aging Gracefully (2017) and Silver Heroes^[4] (2009). They have been published as books and have been exhibited in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Thormaehlen's works "Erika E., born in 1910", and "Susannah M. Jones, at age 116", were chosen for the exhibitions by the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the 2011 and 2016 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prizes. His work has been included in The Guardian.^[5]

He works as a commercial photographer, taking portraits. Since 2010, he has worked as an assistant professor, lecturer and guest speaker at various universities, academies and photo festivals, including RheinMain University, the Academy of Visual Arts Frankfurt and Fürstenecker Fototage.^[6]

In 2021, his first solo exhibition Not Another Second^[7] was shown at the art gallery of The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights and will tour to Los Angeles, Napa, California and Tucson, Arizona in 2021.

Family

Thormaehlen was born into a family with many influential personalities of Germany's 20th century art scene. His great-grandfather Emil Thormaehlen (1859–1941) was an architect and principal of the arts and crafts schools Magdeburg and Cologne. He was also co-founder of Deutscher Werkbund.^[8] One of his two sons, Ludwig Thormaehlen (1889–1956), was a professor of Art History, a sculptor and between 1914 and 1933 a curator at the Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin.^[9] Among other artists he was friends with Edvard Munch and Erich Heckel, a member of the expressionist artist's group Brücke.^[10] His great-great aunt Alexe Altenkirch^[11] (1871–1943) was a painter and graphic designer at Zanders Papers. She had been photographed by August Sander for his famous series People of the 20th Century.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• 2009: Karsten Thormaehlen: Silver Heroes, Frankfurt City Public Health Department, Frankfurt, Germany^[12]
• 2010: Karsten Thormaehlen: Jahrhundertmensch, MMK 3, Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Germany^[13]
• 2014: Karsten Thormaehlen: Pioniere der Zukunft, University of Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland^[14]
• 2014: Karsten Thormaehlen: Aktiv in die Zukunft, DOSB Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, Dominikanerkloster, Frankfurt, Germany^[15]
• 2015: Karsten Thormaehlen: Happy at Hundred, Toranomon Hills, Tokyo, Japan, 16–18 April 2015^[16]
• 2021: Karsten Thormaehlen: Not Another Second, The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights, January 2021^{[17] [18]}
• 2023: Karsten Thormaehlen: Not Another Second, The Watermark at Westwood Village, January 2023^[19]

Group exhibitions

• 2004: Im Rausch der Dinge, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland^[20]
• 2005: The Nature of Skin, Kunsthaus Hamburg, Barlach Halle K, Hamburg, Germany^[21]
• 2011: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London^[22]
• 2016: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London^[23]
• 2018: Pink is the New Grey, Weltkulturenmuseum, Frankfurt, Germany^[24]

Publications

• 100 Jahre Lebensglück. Munich: Knesebeck, 2017. .^{[25] [26] [27]}
• Aging Gracefully. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2017. .
• Silver Heroes. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2012. .
• Happy at Hundred. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2011. .
• Jahrhundertmensch. Frankfurt, 2008. .
• Rome. Kempen, Germany: teNeues, 2004. .
• Not Another Second – LGBT+ Seniors Share Their Stories, ed. by Ines Newby and June Hussey, Tucson, Arizona: Watermark Retirement Communities, 2021. ..
• Young at Heart, ed. by Christine von Arnim, Göttingen, Germany: Steidl, 2021. .

Awards

• 2013: Nominated, ^[28]
• 2015: Silver winner, Clio Awards, Public Service, Print category, for a photograph from his centenarians series used in advertising New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation / Skinfoods^[29]
• 2016: Design and Art Direction (D&AD) London^[30]
• 2016: Shortlisted, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, London, for a photograph from his centenarians series^[23]
• 2017: Bronze in Portraiture/Personality, Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, for a photograph from his centenarians series^[31]
• 2021: Shortlisted, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Health and Wellness category^{[32] [33]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: berufsfotografen.com. Freier Fotograf Karsten Thormaehlen. 1 November 2014.
2. Web site: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (bpb). Jahrhundertmensch – Ausstellung mit Tiefencharakter. 4 July 2013.
3. Web site: My Modern Met. Joyful Portraits of Centenarians That Are Happy at One Hundred. 10 January 2012. 10 January 2012.
4. Web site: Who needs a bus pass? Meet the silver sportsmen and women still going for gold.... Independent.co.uk. 13 April 2012. 14 April 2012.
5. Web site: The 100-year-old couple – still married, still going strong. The Guardian. 11 February 2017. 11 February 2017.
6. Web site: Frankfurter Rundschau. Lehrreiche Blicke hinter die Kulissen. 3 February 2016. 3 February 2016.
7. Web site: 'I refused to let them intimidate me': the untold stories of LGBT+ seniors. TheGuardian.com. 27 January 2021. 27 January 2021.
8. Web site: Universität Magdeburg. Prof. Emil Thormählen. 1 March 2005.
9. https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/272996
10. Web site: Zeit Online. Prof. Ludwig Thormaehlen. 21 November 2012.
11. Web site: Frauengeschichtsverein. Alexe Altenkirch. 4 November 2012.
12. Web site: fokussiert.com. Karsten Thormaehlen: Silver Heroes. 12 November 2009.
13. Web site: artslant magazine. Karsten Thormaehlen: Jahrhundertmensch. 1 June 2010.
14. Web site: Photography-now.com. Pioniere der Zukunft - Glücklich altern auf Sardinien. 13 March 2014.
15. Web site: DOSB. Aktiv in die Zukunft. 15 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141209022212/http://www.dosb.de/de/sportentwicklung/ausstellung-aktiv-in-die-zukunft/. 9 December 2014. dead.
16. Web site: Metropolis Japan. Karsten Thormaehlen: Happy at Hundred. 16 April 2015.
17. Web site: The Stories of Those Who Lost Decades in the Closet. 19 January 2021. The New York Times. en.
18. Web site: Not Another Second. 20 January 2021. Time Out New York. en.
19. Web site: Watermark showcases LGBTQ+ seniors in photo exhibit. 1 February 2023. Beverly Press. en.
20. Web site: Fotostiftung Schweiz. Im Rausch der Dinge - Vom funktionalen Objekt zum Fetisch in Fotografien des 20. Jahrhunderts. 4 September 2004.
21. Web site: Kunsthaus Hamburg. Exhibitions & Events. 4 September 2004.
22. News: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011 Exhibition. Ephotozine . 15 November 2011.
23. News: Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize – in pictures. The Guardian. 16 November 2016 . 16 November 2016.
24. Web site: Monopol. Frankfurter Weltkulturen Museum sucht Exponate zum Thema Alter. 18 December 2017.
25. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aging-gracefully-portraits-of-centenarians-around-the-world_us_58b0b9ffe4b060480e0820cd/ Maddie Crum
26. https://www.thecut.com/2017/02/photos-portraits-of-women-over-100-from-aging-gracefully.html What Aging Gracefully Looks Like After 100
27. http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/05/brilliant-photo-series-celebrates-the-beauty-of-ageing-6555029/ Ellen Scott, metro.co.uk, Brilliant photo series celebrates the beauty of ageing
28. Web site: Bild.de. Diese alten Athleten brechen Rekorde!. 22 October 2013 . 22 October 2013.
29. Web site: Clio Awards. New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation & Skinfoods - A cream that gives you wrinkles. 16 November 2016.
30. Web site: D&AD.org. A Cream That Gives You Wrinkles. 16 November 2016.
31. Web site: px3.fr. 1899. 24 March 2018.
32. Web site: theinspirationroom.com. Breast Cream That Gives You Wrinkles. 6 October 2015. 6 November 2015. dead. 6 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151006091859/http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2015/breast-cream-that-gives-you-wrinkles/.
33. Web site: Cannes Lions 2021: Health and Wellness and Pharma Lions shortlist released . 19 June 2021 .