20th-century german photography takes center stage at fondazione prada in milan

german photography & thierry de cordier at fondazione prada

Fondazione Prada in Milan hosts two recent exhibitions: ‘Typologien’, which showcases 20th-century German photography, and ‘NADA’, which comprises site-specific, large-scale paintings by artist Thierry de Cordier. Both open on April 3rd, 2025, but the former is on view until July 14th, 2025, while the latter is until September 29th, 2025.

These two exhibitions don’t share the same space. Typologien, which presents the works of Wolfgang Tillmans and Andreas Gursky, is within the Podium, the central building of the Fondazione Prada. As for Thierry de Cordier’s massive artworks, they’re in the three-spaced Cisterna building just behind.

images courtesy of Fondazione Prada | photos by Roberto Marossi, unless stated otherwise

Typologien: Photography in 20th-century Germany exhibition

Museum für Moderne Kunst Director and art historian Susanne Pfeffer curates ‘Typologien: Photography in 20th-century Germany.’ When visitors enter the Podium, more than 600 images captured by 25 German artists and photographers adorn the space. Large panels divide the venue like a maze, each of which displays the series of 20th-century German photography. The exhibition path follows a typological instead of a chronological order. In this way, viewers see classifications or ‘types’ of photos rather than the usual year when the photos are captured.

The subjects on display differ. There are photos of dogs, planes, family portraits, people visiting museums and gazing at artworks, blast furnaces, an interior shot of a library, food shelves in the grocery, photos resembling those for document or passport application use, gardens, flowers, and close-up images of ears with different earrings. These photographs, as well as the exhibition, attempt to apply the principle of typology. Its roots originate in 17th- and 18th-century botany and plant studies. Similar to the 20th-century German photography, the Fondazione Prada exhibition then studies and interprets different kinds of subjects, from architecture to science.

left: Bernd & Hilla Becher Hochöfen, 1970, 89 [Altiforni / Blast furnaces]; photo © Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher, represented by Max Becher, courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur | right: Bernd & Hilla Becher Archive, Cologne, 2025. Candida Höfer, BNF Paris XXIII, 1998, [Biblioteca nazionale di Francia Parigi XXIII 1998]; photo © Candida Höfer, Cologne

Large-scale paintings of ‘NADA: Thierry De Cordier’ in milan

Away from the German photography in Fondazione Prada, the Cisterna building next to the Podium showcases the large-scale paintings by the Belgian artist Thierry De Cordier. They tower over the visitors and occupy the three exhibition spaces inside. These artworks are from the artist’s NADA series, realized between 1999 and 2025. They’re almost monochromatic and constitute a black pictorial space. The theme is to let the viewers experience the ‘grandeur of nothingness,’ hence, almost all of the canvases have such void-looking scenography. Some of the paintings have the inscription NADA, which is the counterpart for the religious initials INRI (Jesus the Nazarene). 

It’s because biblical and religious references permeate Thierry de Cordier’s large-scale paintings. All of them, albeit dark, are illuminated by the light that filters through the windows in the building’s top section. The concrete surroundings of the post-industrial building also provide juxtaposition to the artworks alongside the rich blue backdrops that house all of the paintings. Each room contains a structure designed by the artist himself. It forms a triptych-like arrangement. His large paintings are mounted at the center of the long sides, while smaller works are placed in niches on the shorter sides of the lateral modules. These paintings, alongside the ‘Typologien: Photography in 20th-century Germany’ exhibition in the next building, make up the recent shows at Fondazione Prada in Milan.

left: Ursula Böhmer All Ladies – Cows in Europe, 1998 – 2011 [Tutte signore – Vacche europee] Highland Grampians/Scotland, 2011, Highland – Crossbreed Grampians/ Scotland; image courtesy of Ursula Böhmer | right: Isa Genzken Ohr, 1980 [Orecchio / Ear] Ohr, 1980 [Orecchio / Ear] Ohr, 1980 [Orecchio / Ear] Ohr, 1980 [Orecchio / Ear] Ohr, 1980 [Orecchio / Ear]; image courtesy of the artist and Galerie Buchholz

Rosemarie Trockel, Elena I & II; Maculata I & II; Mela I & II, 1993/2025, courtesy of Sprüth Magers and the artist

Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, 1966 – 1986 | image © designboom

left: Jochen Lempert, The Skins of Alca Impennis, 1992 – 2022, courtesy of Jochen Lempert, BQ, Berlin, and ProjecteSD, Barcelona | right: Thomas Ruff Porträt (Petra Lappert), 1987 and Porträt (Simone Buch), 1988, courtesy of MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST, Frankfurt am Main

Candida Höfer, BNF Paris XXIII, 1998 © Candida Höfer by SIAE 2025 /VG BildKunst, Bonn 2025

Candida Höfer, Zoologischer Garten Washington DC IV 1992 © Candida Höfer, by SIAE 2025 /VG BildKunst, Bonn 2025

Isa Genzken Front Operation 1979 Generali Foundation Collection — Permanent Loan to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg © Generali Foundation / Isa Genzken, by SIAE 2025

Thierry De Cordier, IT’S ACCOMPLISHED! (Es ist vollbracht!), 2024, courtesy of Thierry De Cordier and Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels

Thierry De Cordier, THE CRUCIFIXION AND DOROTHEA (Golden Nada), 2025, courtesy of Thierry De Cordier and Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels

image © designboom

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Andreas Gursky 99 Cent, 1999 (remastered 2009), Atelier Andreas Gursky

Thomas Struth National Gallery 1 London, 1989, UBS Art Collection; Louvre 1, Paris 1989, courtesy of the artist

Wolfgang Tillmans, Concorde L449 - 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28 , 1997, installation of 7 unframed inkjet prints on paper, courtesy of Galerie Buchholz

Karl Blossfeldt Equisetaceae – Schachtelhalmgewächse, Horsetail family. Equisetum hyemale, courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts, Archive – Karl Blossfeldt Collection in cooperation with Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne

project info:

first exhibition

name: Typologien: Photography in 20th-century Germany

curator: Susanne Pfeffer

photographers: Bernd and Hilla Becher, Sibylle Bergemann, Karl Blossfeldt, Ursula Böhmer, Christian Borchert, Margit Emmrich, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Isa Genzken, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Lotte Jacobi, Jochen Lempert, Simone Nieweg, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Heinrich Riebesehl, Thomas Ruff, August Sander, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Thomas Struth, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosemarie Trockel, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Marianne Wex | @sibyllebergemann.estate, @boehmer.ursula, @andreasgursky_official, @gerhardrichterofficial, @thomasruff_com, @thomasstruth_official, @wolfgang_tillmans

dates: April 3rd to July 14th, 2025

location: The Podium at Fondazione Prada on Largo Isarco, 2, Milan, Italy | @fondazioneprada

second exhibition

name: NADA: Thierry De Cordier

artist: Thierry de Cordier

dates: April 3rd to September 29th, 2025

location: The Podium at Fondazione Prada on Largo Isarco, 2, Milan, Italy