FUTORO and VENTURO: a vision for modern architecture over fifty years ago – today little more than a memory. Michael Nischke went in search of clues.
Marauding UFO dreams rediscovered:
In the 1970s, the futuristic round houses designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen were the expression of a Utopia that had become reality. Modern, cheerful and optimistic about the future, the UFO-like houses made of fibreglass and polyurethane sheathing landed in numerous places around the world. Following space-age thinking, many artists and designers were interested in these unusual dwellings. Most of the Futuro and Venturo houses disappeared and have long been forgotten. Unexpectedly, however, the Munich photographer Michael Nischke stumbled across a whole cluster of these design icons during a visit to Taiwan: overlooked and neglected, they were gradually rotting away. The series he created there has its very own futuristic and morbid charm. This January 2023, it will be exhibited at 1839 Contemporary Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan.
About Michael Nischke
German (1956) Michael Nischke was born in Berlin, Germany in 1956 and found his way to photography during his stay in Norway. After studied photographic engineering in Cologne, Germany, he assisted Professor Heinrich Riebesehl, who is regarded as one of the most important documentary photographers in Germany alongside Bernd and Hilla Becher, and who had a lasting influence on his work. To date, Nischke, who has been appointed a member of the German Photographic Society (DGPh), has published more than 25 volumes of photographs, a number of which have received several awards. He worked also as editor in chief for German photo-magazines. And after he operate his own studio for professional photography he started in 2000 as a fine art photographer. In 2003 he founded the first gallery for panorama photography in Germany, situated in the city of Munich. The past last years he captured photos for a special series of unseen panoramic views of North Korea and Eritra.
EXHIBITIONS
2023 UFO LIVING, 1839 Contemporary Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2022 MÜNCHEN CLASSIC, Galerie arToxin, Munich, Germany
2022 FADED MEMORIES, Wunderkammaa, Munich, Germany
2022 UFO LIVING, Affordable Art Fair, Hamburg, Germany
2022 UFO LIVING, Galerie VisuleX, Hamburg, Germany
2022 MADE IN MUNICH, Galerie arToxin, Munich, Germany
2020 UNPLUGGED PHOTOGRAPHY, 1839 Contemporary Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2019 TAIWAN PHOTO, Taipei, Taiwan
2019 UNPLUGGED, Gallery Tosei-Sha, Tokyo, Japan
2018 TAIWAN PHOTO, Taipei, Taiwan
2018 REFLECTIONS, Pullman, Berlin, Germany
2017 MUNICH MOMENTS, Gallery Tosei-Sha, Tokyo, Japan
2016 ART MUC artfair, Munich, Germany
2015 EG VAR PAR, Gallery Nischke, Munich, Germany
2013 MÜNCHEN Sofitel Munich, Germany
2011 MÜNCHEN Kunst am Isartor, Munich, Germany
2011 VENEZIA Sofitel Munich, Germany
2011 WHITE OUT, Gallery Nischke, Munich, Germany
2007 BLUE Fotobild, Berlin, Germany
AWARDS
Red Dot Design Award Winner
IF Communication Design Award
Deutscher Designer Club Award
Internationaler KODAK Fotokalender-Preis
Gregor Calendar Award of Excellence
Michael Nischke : UFO Living
Date｜2023.1.7-2023.2.19
Opening｜2023.1.7 (六) 14:30-17:00
Curated by│Edward, I-Chien CHIU (Tokyo University of the Arts, phD)
Organized by｜1839 Contemporary Gallery
TEL│02-2778 8458
Open hours│Tue.-Sun. 11:00-19:00