Mountains are exalted geologic and geographic structures. They raise themselves from their surroundings thereby obstructing views and routes of transportation. That is their nature. They challenge us to move in a different manner as the horizontal passage over the earth transforms into a vertical ascent. Reaching the peak requires a laborious climb. For many, mountains have a limiting dimension. Others see the tremendous mass as a form of liberation and flee to the endless panorama. Mountains are not to be overlooked and impress us with their permanence. This factor is responsible for the invention of the panorama as we know it. The history of the mountains is a history of vertical conquest. Michael Schnabel, a photographer from Stuttgart, has dedicated an extensive body of work to the mystery of the mountains. With the suggestive power of forerunner Caspar David Friedrich the commemorative body of work "Stille Berge" - comprised of 35 nightscapes shot in the Alps - breaks the iconographic tradition of the romantic in a contemporary exceptionally bold photographic approach. Spanning over a number of years he exposed mountains in the night, on starless cloudy nights absent of moonlight, to capture the silent giants in a vague hardly recognizable gravitational massiveness. Something is happening in Michael Schnabel's works. The mountains which stand so solitary and clean overcome the viewer in the form of an utter silence that is nearly physical. The images which at first look appear monochromatic in black reveal in reality the nuances of countless colors imbued with the aura of the inapproachable. Schnabel's "Stille Berge" are elusive. There are colors in the works which divulge in a moment the delicate structures and marvelous details in unseen beauty. After the romantic landscape (similar to Caspar David Friedrich) and Buddhist humanism (similar to Hiroshi Sugimoto) Schnabel shows his works worthy of the concept of systematic deconstruction. Michael Schnabel, born in 1966, studied in Darmstadt and San Francisco and lives in Stuttgart. His images can be accessed through the gallery Photonet in Wiesbaden. His conceptually formulated debut has received numerous prizes, publications and has been exhibited around the world. "Stille Berge" is diminishing darkness in its most beautiful form. Michael Schnabel is Represented by Galerie photonet Taunusstraße 43 . 65183 Wiesbaden Germany +49 (0)611-5990701 kleinschmidt@photonet-online.de www.photonet-online.de solo exhibitions Sept 19 – Oct 22, 2006: Fotoforum, Bozen (I) Sept 26 – Oct 1, 2006: Visual gallery Köln (D) Photokina Nov 16 - Dec 24, 2006: Widmer+Theodoridis contemporary, Zurich (CH) 2007: Bank, Los Angeles (USA) 2007: Esther Woerdehoff, Paris (F) group exhibitions Jun 9 - Oct 1, 2006: Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (D)"Leuchtende Bauten" Sept 17 - Nov 12, 2006: Kunststhalle Wilhelmshaven (D)"Tiefes Licht" Nov 1-5, 2006: Art Cologne / Galerie Photonet (D)