b. 1978 in Cologne, DE

Goldbach’s photographic works draw attention to questions about authorship and reproduction, by engaging closely with the works of other artists. Goldbach uses methods such as the photogram that follow the vein of appropriation by reproducing or referencing historical modern works of art. His works also particularly reflect the relationship between time, written language and technical image. He takes on photography by looking at the physicality of the equipment, as image carriers, image producers and data holders. His work processes analyze the (im)materiality of information through the engagement with historical archives and storage media. For Goldbach photography is understood as its own line of communication that lends itself to its own rules and conventions. Many of Goldbach’s works are in collaboration with institutions, creating space for an intellectual dialog to take place, in which works of art become open channels for this conversation. With these projects, Philipp Goldbach investigates critical and philosophical art theory and the indomitable power of inscription as a means of documentation and history-making.

Philipp Goldbach studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne with a focus on photography before receiving his PhD in Art History, Sociology and Philosophy from the University of Cologne in 2016. Goldbach was an Assistant Professor for Photography at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (2008-2009). He also lectured at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) of Leiden University (2017-2019) and at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (2022) in film and photographic studies. He was a member of the curatorial team at Simultanhalle Cologne and is part of the artist group darktaxa-project. Select exhibitions include kjubh Kunstverein, MUDAM in Cologne, Museum Folkwang in Essen and Centre Pompidou in Paris.