Fotografie Forum Frankfurt
Braubachstraße 30-32, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
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TONY RIZZIWork Hard, Don't Lie, And Try Not To Hurt Anybody
Work Hard, Don't Lie, And Try Not To Hurt Anybody
Duration: September 19, 2026 – January 17, 2027
Opening: Friday, September 18, 2026, 7 pm
ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME
SAT, September 19, 2026, 3 pm
GALLERY TALK with TONY RIZZI and CELINA LUNSFORD, ANDREA HORVAY
WED, Oct 21, 2026, 5 pm
INCLUSIVE GUIDED TOUR in cooperation with Lebenshilfe Frankfurt
FRI, Oct 23, 2026, 6 pm
TALK “BALLET FRANKFURT AND THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL CHOREOGRAPHY” with STEVE VALK and TONY RIZZI READ MORE
SAT/SUN, Oct 31/Nov 1st, 2026, 10 am–2 pm
WORKSHOP “STAGING MOVEMENT, STAGING EXPRESSION: GESTURES, BODY LANGUAGE, MOVING IN FRONT OF THE CAMER” with TONY RIZZI read more
FRI, Nov 4, 2026, 6 pm
TALK “LET’S TALK ABOUT COCK” with SNEŽANA GOLUBOVIĆ and TONY RIZZI READ MORE
WED, Nov 18, 2026, 5 pm
INCLUSIVE GUIDED TOUR in cooperation with Lebenshilfe Frankfurt
TUE, 29.09., 20.10., 24.11.2026 and 14.01.2027, 3 pm
CURATOR’S TOURS with CELINA LUNSFORD or ANDREA HORVAY
TONY IS IN THE HOUSE
TUE, Nov 3rd, SUN, Dec 6, THU, 2026 and Jan 14, 2027, 11 am–6 pm
Meet the artist in the exhibition
Wednesdays, 5 pm
PUBLIC GUIDED TOURS
“Now I begin my life in Frankfurt. I really like it here and feel like I should be here. I feel like there’s a protective presence by my side at all times…strange. WORK HARD, DON’T LIE, AND TRY NOT TO HURT ANYBODY.” Excerpt from Tony Rizzi’s diary (September 7th, 1985)
This quote frames the most comprehensive exhibition to date of the renowned American dancer, choreographer, and photographer Tony Rizzi, who has lived and worked in Frankfurt for 40 years.
Tony Rizzi: An accident, 1996, © Tony Rizzi, 2026
Since the 1980s, Tony Rizzi (*1965) has used his camera to document people, encounters and performances. As a dancer, he joined Ballett Frankfurt under the direction of William Forsythe in 1985. Soon after, photography became a further artistic practice for him, as well as a way of creating connections and capturing fleeting moments.
Polaroids and photographic collages dating from the 1990s to the present are presented alongside early black-and-white photographs from the world of ballet, as well as videos and installations. At the heart of the exhibition are portraits, performances, friendships, romantic relationships, family and his queer communities.
A particular highlight is “Living Room”, an installation comprising more than 6,000 Polaroids, which is being presented publicly for the first time.
Curated by Prof. Celina Lunsford, artistic director of the FFF, in close clollaboration with the artist the exhibition brings together the full breadth of his photographic practice for the first time, and offers an immersive experience into Rizzi’s universe.
The exhibition is accompanied by the artist’s first monograph. The limited edition of 300 is numbered and signed and is available for purchase during the exibition at Fotografie Forum Frankfurt.
Tony Rizzi, born James Anthony Rizzi in 1965 in Dedham, Massachusetts, trained at the Boston Ballet School under, among others, the legendary dancers Violette Verdy and Bruce Wells, both from the New York City Ballet. In 1985, he moved to Frankfurt, where he was a dancer and close collaborator with William Forsythe at Ballet Frankfurt for over 20 years, performing many of leading roles.
At the same time, he developed his own choreographic work: in 1995, he created “Firstext” for the Royal Ballet in London together with Forsythe and Dana Caspersen; further choreographies were created for the Bavarian State Ballet and the Gärtnerplatz Tanztheater in Munich, among others. From 1999 to 2023, he performed as a principal dancer in numerous productions by Troubleyn / Jan Fabre, including the 24-hour performance “Mount Olympus.” In 2012, he played the young Marina Abramović in Robert Wilson’s “The Life and Death of Marina Abramović” on an international tour.
With his own company, ‘Tony Rizzi and the Bad Habits,’ he has been developing his own dance productions since 2000, which regularly premiere at the Mousonturm in Frankfurt and the Gallus Theater. International tours have taken him to Montreal, Vienna, Tokyo, New York, and Oslo, among other places.
Since the late 1980s, Rizzi has been active as a photographic artist. His works have been exhibited at venues including the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Oper Frankfurt, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, the Kunstverein Hamburg, Platform Sarai in Frankfurt am Main, MUMOK in Vienna and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and are held in international collections.
FOTOGRAFIE FORUM FRANKFURT
The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) is one of the leading centres of photography in Europe. As an exhibition space, institution and event forum the FFF deals with all types and aspects of photography. Since its founding in 1984 it has presented more than 300 exhibitions with historic and contemporary artists. Additionally, the programme of the FFF comprises of regular workshops, talks and discussions with internationally renowned photographers, artists and experts.
