The exhibition “Nachsommer” is Elger Esser's sixth solo exhibition at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle.

As often the case with this photographer known for his atmospheric landscapes, the title alludes to a 19th-century literature standard. Here, the title comes from Nachsommer by Adalbert Stifter (1857), which focuses on the perception of art. At the same time, the title conveys the clear mood of late summer and early fall vegetation and light in Central Europe, where the exhibition works were created. In the thirteen or so photographic works taken in various French coastal regions and river basins, time stands perceptibly still. Land, water and sky harmoniously and devotedly meet in these images. Remote places such as Ètang de Peyriac, Saint Ceneri en Gerai or Mont-Saint-Michel are depicted and are sometimes only recognizable by ruins. What unites all the photographic works is a landscape empty of humans yet culturally marked by their presence. Esser precisely coordinates the proportions of the sky spectacles and watery reflections in the water in relation to the landscape’s unique features, which he created. In these perfectly composed works, he presents us with natural beauty in its purest form. Through this deeper perception, all the theoretical questions of photography become clear: its proximity to painting, its history, the theme of time and the philosophical question of duration (as in Henri Bergson).