Anders Petersen had a pretty typical early life. Growing up in post-war Sweden, he left his home in the early 1960s aged 18 and ended up in the port city of Hamburg, and threw himself into the night-life with all its odd bods, low-lifes and misfits. Petersen’s new companions from the Café Lehmitz became a second family, and among them was young prostitute Vanja with whom he fell in love. These experiences – in particular the insight it gave him into poverty and personal struggle – would shape Petersen’s career, which began when he returned to Stockholm and was noticed by eminent photographer Christer Strömholm who became a teacher and mentor. The latter’s style influenced Petersen greatly, and they shared a loyalty to black and white images with a snapshot-like quality.
The Bibliothèque national de France (BnF) first formed a connection to Petersen in 1974 when it acquired 25 images from his Café Lehmitz series, and the Paris institution is now hosting an exhibition of photographs from Petersen’s own collection covering his whole career to date. Less a chronological retrospective and more a thematic collection, Iconographie features both digital and traditional print methods, photobooks, and a film by J.H. Engström, a student of Petersen, showing the artist at work. A book from BnF and Max Ström containing 350 images has been produced by the artist to accompany the exhibition, which runs until 2 February.
Anders Petersen.
Close Distance. 2002
© Anders Petersen.
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
Anders Petersen.
Café Lehmitz. 1970
© Anders Petersen.
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
Anders Petersen.
Karlstad, Suède. 2000
© Anders Petersen.
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
Anders Petersen.
Soho. 2011
© Anders Petersen.
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
Anders Petersen.
Stockholm, 2000
© Anders Petersen,
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
Anders Petersen.
Paris. 2006
© Anders Petersen
Courtesy Galerie VU’ BnF,
Estampes et photographie
