For the first time, the film work of Alfred Ehrhardt is the focus of an exhibition. The photographer, documentary filmmaker, and Bauhaus student created more than 60 films, an oeuvre that has thus far been overshadowed by his photographic work. From April 18, 2026, the Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation will place his films at the center of the exhibition, offering a fresh perspective on one of the most prolific German cultural filmmakers of the 20th century, both aesthetically and historically. The exhibition is curated by Stefanie Odenthal, Christiane Stahl, and Thomas Tode.
Image above: Alfred Ehrhardt filming the cloister in Batalha, Portugal, 1952, 24.3 x 17.2 cm, gelatin silver print, © Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation; Alfred Ehrhardt filming in the Wadden Sea, around 1955, 13.0 x 18.3 cm, gelatin silver print, © Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation
A selection of 20 key short and feature films unfolds across ten screens, presented in two program phases: ten films in the first five weeks, and ten more in the second half of the exhibition. These include nature studies, films about art and cultural history, as well as rarely seen productions from the Nazi era. Among the films shown are Ehrhardt’s so-called “shell films” about snails, mussels, and corals; his studies of nature as a master of form, such as those on tidal flat structures near Neuwerk, volcanic landscapes in Iceland, or ice sculptures off the coast of Greenland; and films about art and artists, including works on Ernst Barlach, documenta II, and African masks.
The parallel presentation of several films allows, for the first time, a comparison of central motifs, methods, and obsessions. Spirals, islands, serial structures, and the interest in life processes made visible through media emerge clearly. Since at least the early 1950s, Ehrhardt has consciously drawn on his Bauhaus training and utilized genuinely cinematic techniques such as time-lapse, slow motion, and extreme macro photography.
The accompanying illustrated book, “Alfred Ehrhardt – Film,” documents his cinematic work in detail for the first time. Archival materials displayed in glass cases and windows, including film scores from the editing process, work photographs, and musical notation by composers such as Oskar Sala, offer insights into Ehrhardt’s working methods and his remarkable inventiveness. Film posters and awards simultaneously document the contemporary recognition of this highly acclaimed “German Film Award winner.”
WHEN?
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday, 18 April – Sunday, 5 July, 2026
Opening: Friday, 17 April , 2026, 7–9 p.m.
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
WHERE?
ALFRED EHRHARDT STIFTUNG
Auguststr. 75
10117 Berlin
