The motifs of Michael Köster – almost without exception, these are views of architectures – are dramatically staged in precise light direction, sharp contouring, and the finest light-dark nuances. The dramaturgy of light and shadow is an essential element in enhancing the mood of the image. Köster's form language reveals influences of the photography of New Objectivity, as well as that of Film Noir. But associations with painting also arise when viewing some of the image stagings, which, in their atmosphere, evoke the mysterious mood of inanimateness and silence found in Pittura-Metafisica paintings.

The fact that the motifs develop such an intense presence during the editing process on the computer is partly because Michael Köster isolates the buildings he focuses on. They are detached from their real urban contexts, in which they normally stand – from the buildings around them, for example. The accompanying process of alienation is further intensified by the artist often placing his motifs in a fictional dark or evening or nighttime setting.

Additionally, certain aspects that characterize the life of a metropolis like Berlin are often obscured – such as the pulsating activity in the squares and streets. The ubiquitous crowds of people and the turbulent traffic are sought in the artist's pictures in vain. This absence of social and community life in the metropolis is perhaps the most noticeable feature of the photographs. A person is rarely seen in the works of the artist. When Köster does "launch" a figure in his images, the person appears hazy, anonymous, and insignificant compared to the powerful architecture that dominates the image composition. Moreover, the person seems to have no sense of their surroundings. They hurry on, introspective or looking at their phone, toward an unknown destination.

Köster's images not only irritate by allowing a different reality to emerge in relation to our everyday experience and perception of urbanity. They fascinate, but they also raise – par excellence – questions regarding themes such as identity and anonymity or urbanity and city society.

Text: André Lindhorst