Rudolf Kicken started his career in the art world as a gallery-opener back in 1974 in Aachen, Germany. The gallery then moved to Cologne in 1979, where it accrued its current name, and established itself as Germany’s predominant purveyor of photographic works.

The Berlin branch opened in 2000, replete with an exhibition room, a library, and private viewing rooms. Kicken’s main focus is on 20th-century photography, especially on the German and Czech avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s, including Bauhaus and the great masters of the genre: Man Ray, Moholy-Nagy and Rodchenko.

The showroom space also displays works from the beginning of the 19th century, as well as 1950s “subjective photography,” contemporary fashion and conceptual photography.

Kicken assumes responsibility for helping to bolster the careers of contemporary photographers like Helmut Newton. It is a leading gallery in the presentation of visual culture worldwide.