For over forty years, Irmel Kamp (born 1937 in Düsseldorf, Germany) has been creating architectural photographs that explore not only the buildings themselves but also their integration into urban or natural environments, shaped by time, generations, as well as socio-economic, cultural, and geographical contexts – an approach revealing complex stories of modernity and transformation.

Kamp’s introduction to photography came in a non-artistic context. Unable to pursue architectural studies due to financial constraints, she pursued training in metallography, which provided her with a deep understanding of materials and techniques, particularly in black-and-white photography. Her work is characterized by her focus on an individual perspective, working mainly with a wide-angle lens, without zoom, to remain as close as possible to the natural human eye’s perception. Kamp treats architecture in the same way as the human subject: her photographs highlight individual buildings, their architectural, formal, or aesthetic characteristics, but also their history. As a result, her work does not follow a typological approach but instead captures the details, vernacular expressions, and irregularities that make the buildings distinctly «inhabited». A poetic of presence.

In recent years, Irmel Kamp has been featured in several solo exhibitions, including at the Leopold-Hoesch- Museum in Düren (2023), the Museum für Photographie in Braunschweig (2022, 2019), and the Ikob – Museum für Zeitgenössische Kunst in Eupen (2020, 2018, 2013, 2008). She has also shown her work in renowned venues such as the Ludwig Museum (2024, 2020, 2003, 1998, 1994), Columbia University (1998), Jewish Museum Hungary (2000), Vienna (1995), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (2020), and Produzentengalerie Hamburg. Prestigious galleries have regularly exhibited her work, including Lisson Gallery (2023), David Zwirner New York (1997), and Galerie Hauser & Wirth (1997).

Irmel Kamp’s works are part of several major collections, including those of the Ludwig Forum for International Art and the IKOB Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as international collections such as the Paul Sack Collection in San Francisco and the J.P. Morgan Collection in New York.