“A knowledge of photography is just as important as that of the alphabet. 

The illiterate of the future will be ignorant of the use of camera and pen alike.”

László Moholy-Nagy

The photographic experiments of the renowned Bauhaus representative László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946) are the focus of the new exhibition titled “László Moholy-Nagy. Light Play,” which will be presented for the first time in Greece at the MOMUS-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, from 13 June to 15 November, 2026.

As one of the most important figures of the Bauhaus, Moholy-Nagy made a decisive contribution to the renewal of the photographic language, treating photography not merely as a means of documentation but as a tool for research, composition, and a new visual experience. Through photomontages and experimental explorations with light and the darkroom, he played a decisive role in shaping a new conception of the image that profoundly influenced contemporary photography, as well as design, graphic arts, and cinema.

The 68 photographic artworks by this pioneering artist, featured in the exhibition, focus on floating shapes and bodies, gazes, shadows, gestures, and transparencies, highlighting Moholy-Nagy’s radical contribution to the fields of photography, film, and the experimental arts of the 20th century.

At the same time, this exhibition highlights the enduring influence of the Bauhaus on contemporary artistic and applied creation: “photograms” (photography without a camera), photomontages, experimental photographs from Europe and the U.S., where he lived and worked, both black-and-white and color photographs, as well as films, offer the exhibition’s visitors a comprehensive experience.

László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy (Hungary, 1895–USA, 1946) was a leading figure in the explosion of modernism in the arts during the early decades of the 20th century. A multifaceted and pioneering figure, the Hungarian artist engaged in painting, photography, design, sculpture, film, typography, and theatrical set design; he designed books, exhibitions, and shop windows. An injured veteran of the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I, he became involved with the Berlin Dada movement and Constructivism. In 1923, he joined the Bauhaus school, where he taught until 1928, while also editing all of the school’s publications alongside Walter Gropius. He was an enthusiastic teacher and authored, among other works, the influential theoretical treatise Painting, Photography, Film (1925).

He experimented with “photograms” (photography without a camera) as early as 1921, exploring their abstract potential, the same year that Man Ray discovered the same technique under the term “rayographs.”  In 1924, he began creating “photoplastics,” an elliptical, minimalist narrative/collage featuring fragments of drawings, images, and words.

 

Throughout the exhibition, educational programmes, guided tours, and workshops on photographic experimentation will take place

Co-organized by: MOMUS-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Fotografiska, the Contemporary Museum of Photography, Art and Culture, The Moholy-Nagy Estate.
Curated by: Jessica Jarl, Global Director of Exhibitions / Fotografiska
Architectural design/production: Danai Mavridou, Spyros Tsafaras / TETRAGON S.A.
Curatorial adaptation: Areti Leopoulou, Deputy Artistic Director / MOMUS-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography & Hercules Papaioannou, Curator 

Fotografiska is a global institution with museums in Stockholm, Berlin, Shanghai, Tallinn, and soon Oslo, dedicated to inspiring new perspectives through photography and contemporary art. Through partnerships and institutional collaborations, Fotografiska brings photography and visual culture to audiences around the globe.

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