For over four decades, the internationally acclaimed photographer Frédéric Brenner has been questioning through his lens the multiple appearances and representations of Jewish life in diaspora, as a case study of the human condition.
His new photographic essay, ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES, was created between 2016 and 2019, when he explored Berlin as stage for a vast spectrum of expressions and performances of Jewishness. Portraying landscapes and individuals — newcomers, old-timers, converts, immigrants and others who have made Berlin their home or were just passing through — he picks apart prevailing ideas and conceptions in order to explore new perspectives and offers a fresh view of issues and people in and around the Jewish-German story.
3 Sep 2021 to 24 Apr 2022
Where
Libeskind Building, ground level, Eric F. Ross Gallery
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
Frédéric Brenner’s images evolve from extensive research, observation, and many, many conversations. To him, taking pictures means, first and foremost, encounters with individuals to whom he offers space to (re)present themselves.
Not pretending to bring forth a rigorous account of the Jewish situation in Germany today nor a visual definition of the contemporary Jew, he offers a series of fragmentary insights into this incubator of paradox and dissonance, reflecting on conflicting narratives of redemption and shedding light on an ever-so-present absence.
A Small Glimpse into the Photographic Essay
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
From the photographic essay ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES by Frédéric Brenner, JMB, purchased with the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Like a shattered mirror, his images offer a polyphonic, sometimes bizarre and disturbing reflection of and on a topography of displacement and estrangement, far beyond the story of Berlin or of Jews. Avoiding the possibility to add up to an all-inclusive and definitive statement, these fragments invite viewers to reweave them into ever-changing stories.
Impressions from the Exhibition
View of the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
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View of the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
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View of the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
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View of the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
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View of the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
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View of the exhibition Frédéric Brenner – ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
“Healed to pieces”?
Abnormality in language seeks a translation into images, music, dance, and theater.
First as a fellow at Berlin’s Wissenschaftkolleg and then as a regular apartment tenant, a flâneur on the Berlin streets, Frédéric Brenner meditates; converses with kindred spirits, friends, and strangers; and discovers that this city’s Jewish community allows him to advance and re-interrogate his lifelong subject of human identity.
Between ostensibly eccentric and ostensibly normative lifestyles that come into view in his subject’s faces and on their stages, the viewer pushes up against the boundaries and the senselessness of judgments and determinations.”
(Thomas Struth, Berlin, 7 October 2021)
View of the exhibition Frédéric Brenner – ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
“ZERHEILT is an inspiring photographic exhibition; more than an exhibition, it is an experience. The ‘mise en scene’ is a fascinating composition of faces, bodies and places that can be interpreted and seen in many ways through the innovative exhibition design.
The photographs are powerful and profound. It is an exhibition not to be missed.”
(Daniel Libeskind)
View of the exhibition Frédéric Brenner – ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
“Thank you for that great exhibition”
“Beautiful composition”
“Wonderful Colorful Joy-bringing Inspiring Pure Art at its best!”
“Absolutely stunning. Thank you”
“Wow Impressiv Unpressionitic Real and Unreal”
(Voices from the guestbook)
View of the exhibition Frédéric Brenner – ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
“Seldom in my almost fifty years in the field of photography and viewing hundreds of exhibitions have I seen such a show. The installation, the architecture, the alliance of the photographer, the space, and the photographs themselves must be seen as a uniform statement of inventive excellence. One experiences space and light, meaning and relevance in a brand new way. I cannot wait to go back for more!”
(Howard Greenberg)
View of the exhibition Frédéric Brenner – ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been so touched and intriged by a photo exhibition. Stunning photos and well installed in this space. Thank you for the beautiful experience”
“Thank you for this masterpiece”
“Thank you for such a surreal experience. Everything evokes a very strong sense of connect.”
(Voices from the guestbook)
Exhibition Information at a Glance
- When
3 Sep 2021 to 24 Apr 2022
- Entry fee
Free of charge
The visit of the museum is possible only with a time slot ticket for the core exhibition – you can book these tickets in our ticket shop. - Where
Libeskind Building, ground level, Eric F. Ross Gallery
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
See Location on Map - Please Note
For current COVID-19 guidelines concerning your visit, please see Planning Your Visit.
The Jewish Museum Berlin will premiere ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES starting September 2021.
We would like to thank the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin for purchasing the photographic essay for the JMB collection.
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Without the leaves, I would not have started.
Frédéric Brenner about his new photographic essay, ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES, and Jewish life in Berlin
Essay
2021
ZERHEILT: HEALED TO PIECES – The Subjects Pose with Their Portraits
Photos from the Exhibition Opening and Interviews about Jewish Life in Berlin
Interview Feature
2021
Accompanying Publication
Publication
2021
Guided Tour for Groups
Guided Tour
by appointment
Guided Tour in German
Guided Tour
Every 2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday of the month at 4 pm (until 24 Apr 2022)
Hevrutah: Zerheilen – Healing to Pieces. An Invitation to Learn Together
Program Accompanying the Exhibition ZERHEILT
All About ...
Oct 2021 to Mar 2022
Guided Tour in English
Guided Tour
Every 3rd Sunday of the month at 4 pm (until 17 Apr 2022)
Staging Jewishness
Artist talk with the photographer Frédéric Brenner
Artist talk
Wed 2 Mar 2022, 7.30 pm (in person and via livestream)
Frédéric Brenner (Photographer)
Photography
Contemporary Jewish Life
Photographic Collection
Art photography, historical press images and family photos, documenting the museum’s work
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