The exhibition is all about encounters. The approximately 130 works explore the fleeting moments of coming together, which are by no means limited to traditional symbolic pairs. Sometimes they are touching depictions that speak of longing and love; at other times, they are chance similarities that make viewers smile.
In his series ‘Bored Couples’, Martin Parr playfully demonstrates that couples are not always engaged in loving interaction. Richard Kalvar takes a similarly humorous look at the pairings that life throws up. Here, politicians find themselves in hilarious situations. But the streets of New York City also offer plenty of bizarre scenes that give rise to entirely new connections. Elliott Erwitt, for instance, was a master at capturing such situations with his camera – or, as he himself put it: ‘Sometimes a single glance is enough to tell a whole life’s story.’
During the tour, visitors can discover a number of famous couples, such as Salvador Dalí and Gala, who were united not only by their intense relationship but also by an extraordinary wealth of artistic creativity. Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable formed a particularly tragic bond on the set of *The Misfits*, as the shoot was to be the last for both of them.
Other figures and couples are brought together solely through the composition of the image, for example through similar gestures. Similarities in clothing or hairstyles also play a significant role.
Alongside human encounters, the exhibition also features pairs of animals and still lifes in which objects form surprising relationships with one another.
