Benjamin Katz’s Ostende (1990), a gelatin silver print on baryta paper, captivates with its subtle composition and atmospheric depth. The photograph shows the sea in Ostend, a coastal town on the Belgian North Sea, and lends the landscape a quiet yet melancholy character. The picture is divided into three levels: In the foreground you can see parts of an interior with various objects guiding the view through the window. A vertical strut divides the picture and creates a subtle, graphic accent. In the middle ground, the waves crash restlessly against the coast, making the wild, untamed power of the sea palpable. The horizon stretches out wide and unbroken, creating an almost meditative calm that contrasts with the movement of the water. A single ship, small and distant in the middle of the picture, appears lost and creates a lonely, almost symbolic effect. It emphasizes the vastness of the sea and the distance between man and nature. Above it stretches the sky with a light cloud formation, finely graded in the grey tones of the silver gelatine and emphasizing the timeless aesthetic of the photograph. Katz skillfully plays with light, shadow and contrasts, creating a subtle tension between the image areas. The graininess of the silver gelatine print adds a tactile quality to the image and reinforces its nostalgic feel. The work evokes moods of loneliness, transience and the immeasurable expanse of the sea. The choice of black and white lends Ostende an additional timeless quality that allows it to go beyond the purely pictorial. It not only remains a documentary image of the coast, but also becomes a poetic reflection on space, silence and the human relationship with nature.

titled and dated “Ostende 1990” in pencil on the reverse and inscribed with the archive no. K76-148833-37. Artist’s stamp and signed. Copy 1/2