Image: Lentos Art Museum, Berlin
Lentos Art Museum is presenting 'Traces of Reality' through 16 August 2026, a survey mounted for the 200th anniversary of photography. The exhibition looks at how artists have used the medium since its beginnings as part of their image-making processes, setting historical positions in dialogue with contemporary works. The museum says the show offers new perspectives on the history and present of photography.
According to the museum’s current exhibitions page, 'Traces of Reality' is organized as a focused examination of the basic conditions of photography. It is structured around five thematic sections that ask what contributes to the making of a photograph. The exhibition addresses both technical aspects and thematic concerns, treating photography not only as a record of reality but as a field shaped by choices of process, framing and subject.
The Lentos newsletter framed the exhibition alongside its summer programme, describing it as one of two special exhibitions currently on view. The other is 'Max Pechstein. Abenteuer Expressionismus', a large retrospective running until 30 August 2026. In that context, the museum positions 'Traces of Reality' within a broader season devoted to questions of art, image worlds and historical perspective.
The exhibition brings together works from different eras and artistic approaches. The current exhibitions page lists artists including Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Madame d’Ora (Dora Kallmus), Herbert Bayer, Shirin Neshat, Judith Huemer, Eva Schlegel, Huda Takriti, Felix-Benedikt Sturm and Anita Witek. The page also shows that the exhibition includes material dating from the 19th century through the 21st century, underscoring the span of photographic practice addressed in the show.
Lentos’ description emphasizes the encounter between historical and contemporary positions rather than a purely chronological history. That approach is reflected in the selection of works named on the museum site, which ranges from Franz Xaver Sölch’s 'Damenporträt' from around 1850 to Huda Takriti’s 'Revisitation. In Three Acts | Act One' from 2024. Other listed works include Steichen’s 'Rodin – Der Denker' from 1902, Man Ray’s 'Zünder' from 1922, and Shirin Neshat’s 'Speechless' from 1996.
The museum is also using the summer programme to introduce visitors to the exhibition through guided tours. Public tours through 'Max Pechstein' and 'Die Sammlung' are scheduled regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and the Lentos website lists a curator’s tour related to 'Max Pechstein' on 13 and 20 August. While those events are separate from 'Traces of Reality', they place the photography exhibition within a busy institutional calendar of exhibitions, family programmes and guided visits.
'Lentos Art Museum Linz' gives the museum’s address as Ernst-Koref-Promenade 1, 4020 Linz. 'Traces of Reality' is listed in the current exhibitions section with an end date of 16 August 2026.
