january-2012

Right: Passion 11 / One of the
People (2010) by Christopher Th omas.
Below: Cuzco Children
(1948) by Irving Penn
Nick Brandt and Silke Lauff s. Despite an enticing off er to
open a gallery in Berlin, she decided to join Bernheimer
Munich and develop the photography business. Her father is
thrilled that his daughter has joined the fi rm.
‘Th ere was never any pressure on any of us girls to go into
the art world,’ she says. ‘My father was very clear about that,
especially as, as an only son, he never had any choice. He has
been very generous with his contacts, advice and experience,
and Munich is a wonderful centre for high-quality art
photography. Th e city attracts a wide market of German and
foreign visitors and of course our prices are much lower than
paintings so customers can easily make a spontaneous purchase
without blowing the budget.’
Blanca has mounted exhibitions in London and Munich
with work by Robert Mapplethorpe, Lucien Clergue, Toni
Schneiders and Julian Schnabel. She’s a great supporter of
up-and-coming artists such as Mat Hennek, and one of her most
eff ective ideas is to juxtapose modern photographers with old
master paintings. One such exhibition showed limited-edition
photography by Guido Mocafi co who recreates in minute detail
the great still-life paintings of the Dutch old masters. It is
unnerving and exhilarating to see them hang side by side.
Last autumn, Blanca’s main focus was Paris Photo, the
most prestigious photography fair in Europe, which is held at
the Grand Palais. Each year, photography becomes a more
important part of the modern art scene and Blanca tells me
that major galleries like Gagosian and Pace MacGill from
New York now have a presence there. Gagosian, a giant of the
contemporary art world, recently bought the whole estate of
photographer Richard Avedon. ‘Larry Gagosian is very astute,’
says Blanca. ‘He could obviously sense a new demand for the
cool, classical aesthetic that Avedon was famous for.’
Constant change is clearly part of the Bernheimer identity
and success. Just as her father Konrad changed the direction of
the great enterprise he inherited, so Blanca is forging her own
interpretation of the Bernheimer name. ‘I would like to think
that one day we’ll be better known for photography than old
masters,’ she says cheekily, ‘but I think that’s some way off .’
Her proud father would probably applaud her ambition.
www.bernheimer.com
PRIVATARTS
Forty
‘ I would like to think
that one day we’ll
be better known for
photography than
old mast ers’
IMAGES©CHRISTOPHERTHOMASCOURTESYOFBERNHEIMERFINEARTPHOTOGRAPHYCONDENASTPUBLICATIONS