Photo copyright Werner Bischof Estate
.
Black-and-White is the new black: Werner Bischof at Bildhalle
Photo copyright Werner Bischof Estate
Werner Bischof’s stunning photos open new Bildhalle Gallery
This is a great exhibit for photo buffs, serious gallery-goers or the simply curious. Werner’s Bischof’s images – a Peruvian flute player on his way to the market, ships in the Kowloon harbor, Shinto priests descending a staircase, on view at Bildhalle show that the Zurich native was a rare combination of photojournalist and photographer, impartial news chronicler and deeply feeling humanist.
New Bildhalle Gallery Location
The exhibition kicks off the opening of Bildhalle’s stunning new Zurich location and sets the tone for the gallery, which exhibits and sells a unique blend of high-quality classic and contemporary photography.
“Werner was very artistic and he did a lot of experimenting with photographic techniques from a young age. He created many of these images a long time ago, in the 1940s, but they look very modern, like they could have been taken today,” says Mirjam Cavegn, Bildhalle’s owner, who started in Kilchberg three and a half years ago and moved to Zurich to be more accessible to clients.
She chose to exhibit Bischof’s work because he was such an important Swiss artist who, although he was only active from 1934-1954, his relevance continues today, many years after his untimely death at the age of 38.
“For many photographers, he was (their) entrance point to photography,…a guide,” says Cavegn.
Werner Bishof International Photographer
Bischof worked as a Magnum photographer and traveled the world covering dramatic events like the aftermath of WWII in Germany, the Spanish Civil War and the 1951 famine in India. But, Cavegn explains, this show highlights his “freizeit” or “off-hours” work and shows that he was most interested in capturing slice-of-life images.
“By the 1950s, he was a bit tired after doing so many assignments for Magnum and he started doing more of this “free work,” she says.
In these images, Bischof sought to capture something deeper than a fleeting journalistic image — he wanted to capture the “soul” of what he photographing.
To wit, one of the exhibit’s most stunning images, Meiji Shrine, shows two umbrella-wielding Japanese monks walking single file in the snow. The Zen-like composition captures the serenity of the location, the stoicism of the men, and, in Bischof’s mind, the spirit of the country.
Other images show everyday people in India, Peru, the United States and Switzerland in a range of postures and situations: taking the train, working on bridges, crossing the street. In each, Bischof catches just the right angle, shaft of light or facial expression to evoke his subject’s humanity and bring the viewer into their world, even if it is the world of 60 years ago.
The prints are high-quality platinum-paladium and for sale through the gallery.
Exhibition Details
The exhibition runs until October 1. Details below.
Where: Bildhalle, Stauffacherquai 56, 8004 Zurich
When: Mon-Fri 12-6:30pm, Sat 11-5pm. Thursdays: Open until 8 and Free Apero offered to evening visitors.
Visit the Bildhalle Website here
[flexiblemap address=“Stauffacherquai 8004 Zürich” title=“Bildhalle” width=”100%” height=”400px” directions=”true”]
*********************
Article written by Jennifer Lisle. Jennifer is a Zurich-based freelance journalist who has written for The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and Elle, among many others.
*********************
For more information about Events in Zurich and beyond please see our What’s On Page or our News Articles or for regular updates subscribe to our blog.
**********************
