The photographer Thomas Höpker has shaped photojournalism in Germany like no other; his photo reportages took him all over the world. Höpker worked as a photojournalist for the Münchner Illustrierte, later for Kristall and Stern. From the beginning of his career, he saw his task as ‘living in close contact with time, fathoming and unravelling the present’. In 1979 he moved to New York; in 1989 he was the first German photographer to become a full member of the MAGNUM Photos agency.

From the wealth of Höpker’s life’s work, Thomas Höpker: Intimate History presents numerous internationally known photographs as well as works never before seen. The exhibition impressively conveys Höpker’s interest in social issues and his empathy for the people he portrays. Authenticity and photographic testimony are the defining constants of his work. Unagitated, subtle and far from sensationalism, many of his motifs have become timeless icons of Concerned Photography through their precise image composition and dense pictorial statements.