Andreas Gursky: Montparnasse

Published on the occasion of Andreas Gursky’s 1995 exhibition at Portikus in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, this elegant three-part publication is devoted to the artist’s monumental 1993 photograph of L’immeuble d’habitation Maine-Montparnasse II, a quarter-mile-long housing block in Montparnasse, Paris. This modernist landmark was designed by Jean Dubuisson in 1959 and completed in 1964. Gursky’s characteristically hyperfocused image—one of his most recognizable works—details a contemporary structure with a precision that reshaped photography.

Designed by Kühle und Mozer, the set includes two oversize, perfect-bound volumes with metallic silver covers and a color lithograph, housed together in a printed box. Texte contains an essay by Hans Irrek and interviews by Dubuisson with three Montparnasse dwellers. Image reproduces grainy details of individual apartment interiors and includes an illustrated essay by Irrek, as well as interviews with the artist by Irrek and Ursula Trübenbach. The lithograph—a small-scale reproduction of Paris, Montparnasse—is contained in a folder inscribed with the names of the building’s more than 750 resident families.