Exhibition ‘Bless this Couch’

Meaningful

At the age of just 22, documentary photographer Valentin Goppel was awarded the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award for his photo series “Between the Years”. Now, selected works from this series and his long-term project “False Prophet Radio” are on display at the Leica Gallery in Stuttgart. Would you like to stimulate both your sense of sight and your sense of hearing? Then come along to the exhibition opening with an artist talk on 23 July.

Text
Lisa Kummerer
Photos
Valentin Goppel

Gradually, we’re once again tending to associate the word ‘mask’ with the symbolic mask that one can put on, perhaps also the elaborate mask worn at a masked ball. The mask that was part of our everyday lives just a few years ago, protecting us from pesky viruses, is now a thing of the past for most of us. But the time when it was so important continues to leave its mark to this day. In his series “Between the Years”, documentary photographer Valentin Goppel shows how the coronavirus has had a profound impact on an entire generation. You’ll search in vain for masks in these works; instead, Goppel captures the spirit of the times.

From 18 July 2026, the Leica Gallery in Stuttgart will be hosting the exhibition “Bless this Couch”, featuring selected works by Valentin Goppel. The exhibition includes photographs from “Between the Years” and his new long-term project “False Prophet Radio”. Since 2023, the 26-year-old photographer has been travelling repeatedly through the western United States for this project. The route takes shape as he goes along, but the central question remains the same: is there such a thing as objective perception in photography? Beyond its political and social relevance, the project also has a strong biographical dimension: he sets out in search of a dreamt-of America, which has become the projected link in a family’s alienation.

1/3

As documentary photography, by its very nature, draws on the experiences of its creators, the artist talk with the photographer on 23 July 2026 at 6.30 pm at the Leica Gallery Stuttgart promises some particularly fascinating insights.

→ leica-camera.com

Lisa Kummerer

Editor

Spent the weekends of her childhood alternating between a light blue Opel Olympia Rekord and a red Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0, mostly reading. The destination? The journey. Ever since, she has been enthusiastic about the beautiful things in life. Studied fashion journalism, practising editor. Most likely to be found in the cinema, in the kitchen, with a violin on her shoulder or lifting weights. Please note: rarely in the car.

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Meaningful

→ leica-camera.com

Lisa Kummerer

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