Skip to content
Photograph of a building from its side

Entrance, Houston, Texas, 1983, C-print, 48 7/8 x 59 inches

image of the Rocky Mountains at Montana

At the Horizon: The Rocky Mountains, Montana, 2000, C-print, 70 x 175 inches

different colored store fronts

Entire Family, Las Vegas, New Mexico, 1983, C-print, 70 1/8 x 82 5/8 inches

photograph of a cityscape

Woman in the Window, 1999, C-print, 49 x 59 1/2 inches

the Safeway sign in big, red letters

Safeway, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1983, C-print, 70 1/8 x 82 5/8 inches

dilapidated, colonial era buildings from Havana, Cuba

The Pink Building, Havana, 1998, C-print, 96 x 37 1/2 inches

dilapidated, colonial era buildings from Havana, Cuba

The Orange Building, Havana, 1998, C-print, 96 x 37 1/2 inches

wooden home and farmland in the middle of a field

Wythe Landscape, 2000, C-print, 49 x 90 inches

shadowy and dark rocky terrain

The Road to Emmaus, near Jerusalem, 2000, C-print, 70 1/8 x 176 inches

faded and rusty sign that says "Western World Development Tract 82.71"

Western World Development, Near Four Corners, California, 1986, C-print, 49 x 55 1/2 inches

a street surrounded by small buildings and a green landscape

Mississippi Town, 2001, C-print, 49 x 62 inches

cityscape of Butte, Montana

Street Corner, Butte, Montana, 2003, C-print, 49 x 119 1/2 inches

vintage black car in front of a building with poor maintenance

The Black Car, Havana, 1998, C-print, 39 1/2 inches x 94 inches

cityscape of La Havana, Cuba

Havana from across the Bay, 1998, C-print, 39 3/8 x 94 1/8 inches

giant, wooden statues of several men and women

Lovely Louise, San Fernando, California, 1986, C-print, 49 x 55 1/2 inches

cemetery in a dry landscape

Indian Cemetery, Montana, 2000, C-print, 70 1/8 x 176 inches

light blue school buses

Joshua and John (behind), Odessa, Texas, 1983, C-print, 49 ¼ x 66 7/8 inches

cityscape of Jerusalem with a cemetery in the lower half of the shot

Jerusalem Seen from the Mount of Olives, 2000, C-print, 114 1/8 x 45 7/8 inches

an abandoned car next to a white building with three storage tanks behind it

Flammable, Terlingua, Texas, 1983, C-print, 49 x 55 1/2 inches

empty store fronts

Used Book Store, Butte, Montana, 2000, C-print, 49 x 92 inches

giant dinosaur statue

Dinosaur and Family, 1983, C-print, 49 x 65 inches

cityscape of Jerusalem with trash in the lower half of the shot

Jerusalem Seen from Mount Zion, 2000, C-print, 114 1/8 x 45 7/8 inches

Press Release

On November 8, the James Cohan Gallery will present Pictures From the Surface of the Earth, an exhibition of photographs by Wim Wenders, the acclaimed film-maker best known for films such as Paris, Texas (1984), Wings of Desire (1987), and The Buena Vista Social Club (1999). This will be the first exhibition of his photographs in New York.

Since 1983, Wenders has developed a major body of photographic works from his travels which have taken him around the world. Our exhibition will focus on his large-scale panoramic photographs taken in the American West, Cuba and Israel. For Wenders "the road" has held much allure and has been the driving force in his cinematic and photographic career. In his images of urban and rural landscapes, the essence of a place is captured and becomes the main character driving the narrative. They are stories unfolding within a single frame.

Many of Wenders' photographs-especially those taken of the American West-are evocative of the paintings of Edward Hopper, an artist whom Wenders credits as perhaps his greatest influence. "With Hopper" says Wenders, "you sense everything is just around the corner. The openness to action is all there. They are about the quiet before the storm."

Horizon line, scale and color are dominant features in Wenders' unmanipulated photographs which can measure up to 15 feet in length. He has stated that "the size is strictly in reverence to the places that are represented in the pictures". The physicality inherent in the photographs allows the viewer to fully immerse oneself in the body of the picture.

A book of Wenders' photographs titled Pictures from the Surface of the Earth was published in 2001. A museum exhibition of the same title has been touring Europe since 2000 and has included such venues as the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. The exhibition is exhibitionsly on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and will travel later this year to the City Art Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand.

Wim Wenders exhibitionsly lives and works in Los Angeles and Berlin.

For more information on Wim Wenders, please visit www.wim-wenders.com.

Back To Top