structions made by means of a technical apparatus
and the endless patience of the artist. Sometimes, he
remindsusofthatfactbystressingtheactoffram-
ing—especially in his diptychs, in which the same
landscape is framed differently. Hu ̈tte succeeds in
lending a certain modern quality to these seemingly
innocent images by focussing on the vulnerability of
the landscape. Atmospheric conditions are stressed.
Often, the landscape is presented as an almost imper-
ceptible realm. The view in his Italianvedute is
blocked by an architectural structure; his mountain
tops are equally obfuscated in fog, and his jungles
are completely grown thick. With their almost
monochrome surfaces, geometrical simplicity, and
their suggestion of boundless extensions, these land-
scapes answer to the modernist space of abstract art
and modern architecture favouring infinity, trans-
parency, and dematerialization—qualities evoked in
the deep blue monochromes of Hu ̈tte’s recent noc-
turnal cityscapes as well.
StevenJacobsSeealso:Architectural Photography; Gursky, Andreas;
Photography in Germany and Austria; Ruff, Thomas;
Struth, Thomas
Biography
Born in Essen in 1951. Studied sociology at the University
of Cologne (1973–1975) and photography with Bernd
Becher at the Academy of Art in Du ̈sseldorf (1973–
1981). DAAD scholarship for London, 1982; scholar-
ship for the German Study Centre in Venice, 1985;
Karl-Scmidt-Rotluff Scholarship, 1968–1988. Herman
Claasen Prize 1993. Lives and works in Du ̈sseldorf.
Selected Individual Exhibitions
1984 Galerie Konrad Fischer; Du ̈sseldorf, Germany
1988 Regionalmuseum; Xanten, Germany
1992 Museum Ku ̈nstlerkolonie; Darmstadt, Germany
1993 Harmburger Kunsthalle; Hamburg, Germany
1993 Kunstraum; Mu ̈nchen, Germany
1995 Rheinisches Landesmuseum; Bonn, Germany
1997 Fotomuseum; Winterthur, Switzerland
1997 Musei Civici Rubiera; Reggio Emilia, Italy
2000 Fecit; Museum Kurhaus Kleve; Kleve, Germany
2001 As Dark as Light; Huis Marseille; Amsterdam, Holland
2004 Terra Incognita; Palacio de Vela`zquez; Madrid, Spain
Selected Group Exhibitions
1979 In Deutschland; Rheinisches Landesmuseum; Bonn, Ger-
many
1988 German Art of the Late 80s; The Institute of Contem-
porary Art; Boston
1990 Der klare Blick; Kunstverein; Munich, Germany
1991 Museum of Contemporary Photography; New York
1992 Distanz und Na ̈he; Neue Nationalgalerie; Berlin, Germany
1993 Industriefotografie Heute; Sprengel Museum; Hann-
over, Germany
1994 La Ville; Centre Georges Pompidou; Paris, France
1997 Alpenblick: Die zeitgeno ̈ssische Kunst und das Alpine;
Kunsthalle; Vienna, Austria
1998 At the End of the Century: 100 Years of Architecture;So-
lomon R. Guggenheim Museum; New York
1998 Landschaft: Die Spur des Sublimen; Kunsthalle; Kiel, Ger-
many
1999 Reconstructing Space: Architecture in Recent German Pho-
tography; Architectural Association; London
2000 Ansicht, Aussicht, Einsicht: Architecturphotographie;Mu-
seum Bochum; Germany
2001 In Szene gesetzt;ZKM;Karlsruhe,Germany
2002 Heute bis Jetzt;MuseumKunstPalast;Du ̈sseldorf, Ger-
manySelected Works
London Series, 1982–1984
Portraits, 1985–1995
Bridges, 1990s
Berlin Subway Exits, 1990s
Italian Landscapes, 1989–1996
Landscapes and Fog, 1994–2003
Nocturnal Cities, 1998–2003Further Reading
Breuer, Gerda.Axel Hu ̈tte: London. Photographien 1982–
1984. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1992.
Covallo, Elvira, ed.Axel Hu ̈tte: Theorea. Munich: Schir-
mer/Mosel, 1996.
Gerhold, Roman Ronald. ‘‘Axel Hu ̈ttes Architekturphoto-
graphie oder Architektur der Photographie.’’ InAnsicht,
Aussicht, Einsicht: Architekturphotographie, edited by
Monika Steinhauser and Luger Derenthal. New York:
Richter Verlag, 2000.
Hofmann, Barbara. ‘‘Axel Hu ̈tte.’’ InHeute bis Jetzt: Zeit-
geno ̈ssische Fotografie aus Du ̈sseldorf (I), edited by
Rupert Pfab. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 2002.
Honnef, Klaus, ed.Axel Hu ̈tte: Landschaft. Munich: Schir-
mer/Mosel, 1995.
Olivares, Rosa. ‘‘Terra Incognita.’’ InTerra Incognita.
Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 2004.
Schneede, Uwe M.Axel Hu ̈tte: Italien. Munich: Schirmer/
Mosel, 2004.HU ̈TTE, AXEL