Artist Statement

My research-based art practice examines how humans relate to natural, built, and ideological environments. Working primarily with photography and expanded photographic processes, I investigate how climate change, political systems, and social hierarchies manifest in landscapes and architecture. I ground my work in long-term, site-specific research and material experimentation, positioning photography as a visual medium and a critical research tool at the intersection of art, the humanities, and science.

Each project develops through cycles of fieldwork and studio work. Research methods include archival study, site walks, interviews, and dialogue with experts and local communities, which inform the selection of locations. I photograph these sites with medium- or large-format analog cameras. The slow, deliberate nature of this approach allows for sustained attention to time, materiality, and chance.

In the studio, I employ experimental techniques such as alternative exposure and development, solarization, heat treatment, laser etching, and collaging. These materially driven interventions reflect conditions of instability, erosion, and fragmentation, mirroring the environmental and socio-political systems under investigation. The resulting works function as visual records of change, absence, and accumulation over time.

My international background is central to my practice. Having lived and worked in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, I approach place as historically layered, politically charged, and culturally contingent. This transnational perspective is most fully articulated in my second monograph, Die Ab- und Anwesenheit der Berliner Mauer / The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall, published by DISTANZ in German and English editions in August 2025.

Bio

Gesche Würfel earned a diploma in Urban Planning from the Technical University Dortmund (DE), an M.A. in Photography and Urban Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London (UK), and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US). The artist has participated in exhibitions at Tate Modern, London (UK); Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (DE); David Zwirner, New York, NY (US); Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) Raleigh, NC (US); Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC (US); Goldsmiths Center for Contemporary Art, London (UK); International Center of Photography, New York (US); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MA (US); Singapore International Photography Festival (SG), among others. She is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the Bloomberg New Contemporaries, London (UK); the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn (DE); the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), New York, NY (US); the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), New York, NY (US); and was an Artist-in-Residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (DE); Studios at MASS MOCA, North Adams, MA (US). Würfel is the author of “The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall” (DISTANZ 2025) and “Basement Sanctuaries” (Schilt Publishing 2014). Her work is in the permanent collections of the MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA (US), the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR (US), and the Pensacola Museum, Pensacola, FL (US). The artist currently lives and works in New York, NY (US). She is represented by Tracey Morgan Gallery.

Resume
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EDUCATION

2015 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA, MFA Studio Art

2006 Goldsmiths, University of London, UK, M.A. Photography & Urban Cultures (distinction)

2003 University of Dortmund, Germany, Diploma Spatial Planning (magna cum laude)

GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS /
AWARDS / RESIDENCIES

2026

︎Fellowship, Climatebase, SF, CA, USA
︎Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ, USA
︎Award, Category: Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts Nature, Urbanautica Institute Awards 2025, Paris, France
︎Residency, Pollinator, online, USA
︎New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) FY2026 Award for Artists, New York, NY, USA

2025
︎Residency, Pollinator, online, USA
︎Faculty Publishing Grant, Tisch Creative Research, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA

2024

︎ Dean’s Faculty Research Grant, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA
︎ Book Subvention Grant, NYU Center for the Humanities, New York, NY, USA
︎ Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ, USA

2023
︎ Dean’s Faculty Research Grant, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA
︎Climate Change Initiative Seed Grant (with Prof. Eric Dickson), Office of the Provost, New York University, NY, USA
︎Shortlist, Sustainability Category, Felix-Schoeller Photography Prize, Germany
︎ Shortlist, Category Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts, Urbanautica Institute Awards 2022, Paris, France
︎ Residency, Kunstraum, Brooklyn, NY, USA

2022
︎ White Columns Artist Registry, New York, NY, USA
︎ Dean’s Faculty Research Grant, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA
︎ Award, Category Nature, Environment, and Perspectives, Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021, Paris, France
︎ Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ, USA
︎ Artist Support Grant, NC Arts Council, Raleigh, NC, USA

2021
︎Residency, International Studio Program, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
︎ Fellowship, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn, Germany
︎Fellowship, Memory Work, The Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany (Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur), Berlin, Germany
︎RJ Reynolds Foundation Junior Faculty Development Award, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

︎ Artist Support Grant, NC Arts Council, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ Nominee, Leica Oscar Barnack Award 2021

2020
︎ UNC-CH Junior Faculty Travel Award, Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, US
︎ Fixed-Term Faculty Grant, Institute for the Arts & Humanities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2019
︎ Faculty Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

︎Faculty Residency, MASS MoCA/Assets for Artists, North Adams, MA, USA
︎ Visiting Researcher, Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA, USA
︎ Finalist, Lange-Taylor Prize, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

︎ Shortlist German Peace Prize, Felix-Schoeller Photography Prize, Germany

︎ JCME Faculty EU Research and Travel Award, Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

︎ Travel Grant, Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2018
︎ Finalist, Lange-Taylor Prize, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
︎ Excellent Artistic Creativity Photographer Award, Camel Ring on Silk Road ”Naiman International Photo Festival”, China
︎ Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ, USA
︎ 2x Faculty Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2017
︎ Critical Mass Top 50, Photo Lucida, Portland, OR, USA
︎ Finalist, Lange-Taylor Prize, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
︎ The Fifth New York Portfolio Review (organized by The New York Times and the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY), USA
︎ Faculty Research Grant, Department of Art & Art History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ Review Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA (regretfully declined)

2016
︎ LensCulture 2016 Emerging Talent Awards, Juror’s Pick
︎ Faculty Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ GlogauAIR Residency, Berlin, Germany (regretfully declined)

2015
︎ Regional Emerging Artist Residency, Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ The Third New York Times Portfolio Review (organized by The New York Times and the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY), USA

2014
︎ LensCulture 2014 Emerging Talent Awards Top 50 Winner, LensCulture
︎ Two Travel Grants from the Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ Professional Shortlist Architecture Category, SONY World Photography Awards, London, UK

2013
︎ Longlist, Aperture Portfolio Awards, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY, USA
︎ Critical Mass Top 200, Photo Lucida, Portland, OR, USA

2012
︎ Manhattan Community Arts Fund Grant (MCAF), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), New York, NY, USA
︎ Creative Grant, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY, USA
︎ Runner-up, Camera Club New York (CCNY) Darkroom Residency 2013, New York, NY, USA

2011
︎ Individual Artist Grant, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY, USA

2008
︎ Merit, Fujifilm Dinstinctions Award, UK

2007
︎ Bloomberg New Contemporaries, UK

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024
︎ The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall, Deutsches Haus NYU, New York, NY, USA
︎ Interwoven. Unearthed Stories of Slavery, Brownsburg Museum, VA, USA (I was commissioned to photograph the remaining slave dwellings in 2023.) (catalog)

2022
︎ The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2021

︎ When Trees Are Dying, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC, USA

2019
︎ What Remains of the Day - Memories of World War II, GreenHill, Greensboro, NC, USA
︎ At the Hands of Persons Unknown, Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN, USA

2018
︎ What Remains of the Day - Memories of World War II, Pensacola Museum of Art, FL, USA
︎ At the Hands of Persons Unknown, Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW), Woodstock, NY, USA

2016
︎ Oppressive Architecture, Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ Oppressive Architecture, Heavy Load-Bearing Body/Museen Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany
︎ Plantation Still Lifes, Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2015
︎ We Still Love Life, The John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ Basement Sanctuaries, Gallery 1401, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA

2014
︎ Basement Sanctuaries, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, USA

2013
︎ Basement Sanctuaries, New York Public Library, New York, NY, USA

2012
︎ Basement Sanctuaries, Field Projects, New York, NY, USA
︎ Go for Gold! The Underground Gallery, London, UK

2010
︎ Go for Gold! The East London Landscape of the 2012 Olympics, Wolk Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA
︎ Go for Gold! The Transformation of the Lower Lea Valley, Civilian Art Projects, Washington, DC, USA

2009
︎ Transitory Spaces, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK

2005
︎ Raumvorstellungen, University of Dortmund, Germany

2004
︎ PERSPECTIVES_The Nordmarkt in Words and Images, University of Dortmund and traveling, Germany

TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2016
︎ Raleigh Redux, Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA

2012
︎ Habitats, Grady Alexis Gallery at El Taller Latino Americano, New York, NY, USA
︎ Underground. theprintspace, London, UK

2009
︎ A Line Is There To Be Broken, Viewfinder Photography Gallery, London, UK (catalog)

2008
︎ A Line is There to be Broken, This is not a Gateway (TINAG) Festival, London, UK (publication)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026

︎Photographing Absence, Open Eye Gallery and The Stable Gallery at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, UK (forthcoming)
︎Blue Sky 50 Years Anniversary Exhibition: 2005 - 2015, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, USA (forthcoming)

2025

︎ DPI Faculty Exhibition, Department of Photo & Imaging, NYU Tisch, New York, NY, USA
︎Friends Seminary Contemporary Art Preview, 52 Walker/David Zwirner, New York, NY, USA

2024
︎ The Whispering Streams of Memory, Pingyao International Photography Festival 2024, Pingyao, Shanxi, China
︎ Friends Seminary Contemporary Art Preview, 52 Walker/David Zwirner, New York, NY, USA
︎ 7 Year Itch - A Survey from 2017-2023, Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC, USA (online)

2023

︎ Past & Present, organized by Der Greif, Pavillon 333 at Pinakothek der Moderne and ZIRKA, Munich, Germany
︎ Memory Mirage, Kunstraum, Brooklyn, NY, USA
︎ Mirror with a Memory, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Lobby, New York, NY, USA

︎ Mirror with a Memory, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY, USA
︎ Friends Seminary Contemporary Art Preview, David Zwirner, New York, NY, USA
︎ Depth of Field, Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL, USA

2022
︎ Mirror with a Memory, Department of Photo & Imaging, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY, USA

2021
︎ Transformation, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Blowing Rock, NC, USA
︎ Rethinking Nature, Casino Luxembourg, Forum d’Art Contemporain, as part of European Month of Photography, Luxembourg, LU

2020
︎ Building Dialogs, OAS Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC, USA (online)
︎ The FENCE, Photoville, Durham, NC, USA
︎ Faculty Show, The John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ 2020 North Carolina Annual Artists Exhibition, Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, USA
︎ FRESH. A fundraising exhibition featuring new works by NC artists, Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA

2019

︎ Good Things in Small Packages, Tracey Morgan Gallery, NC, USA

︎ The Light Factory’s Annual Auction, The Light Factory, Charlotte, NC, USA

2018
︎ Across County Lines: Contemporary Photography from the Piedmont, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
︎ Picture | Architecture, Photo BaoHe 2018, Hefei, China
︎ In Other Image, When Words Fail. Open Call Showcase 2018. Singapore International Photography Festival, Singapore
︎ Environmental Conservation, Peace and Development, “Silk Road Camel Bell” 1st Naiman International Photography Festival, Naiman, Inner Mongolia, China

2017
︎ Charting the Invisible, APT Gallery, London, UK (catalog)
︎ The FENCE, Durham, NC
︎ FRESH 2017, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (catalog)
︎ 30th Anniversary Residency Invitational Retrospective, Artspace, Raleigh, NC
︎ Elective Affinities - A Library, 205 Hudson Gallery, Hunter College, New York, NY
︎ LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2016, International Center of Photography (ICP) Museum, New York, NY
︎ Urban Memories, Urban Photographers’ Association, Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, University of London / London Architecture Festival, London, UK
︎ Living in the Shadows: Underground Immigrant Communities, Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities, Rutgers University, NJ (catalogue)

2016
︎ Memory and Archive, Urban Photographer’s Annual Exhibition, Lewisham Art House, London, UK
︎ Art + Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America, GreenHill/High Point University, NC

2015
︎ Eureka, The John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ Neo-Pre-Proto-Anti-Para-Ultra-Contra-Post-Photography, Spectre Arts, Durham, NC, USA
︎ 40/40, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, USA
︎ Art + Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America, GreenHill/Greensboro College, NC, USA
︎ The Land of No Things, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2014
︎ Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Autumn Art Auction, William Holman Gallery, New York, NY (Invitational)
︎ NUTUREart Benefit, The Boiler, Brooklyn, NY (Invitational)
︎ Contemporary German Photography, The 14th China Pingyao International Photography Festival, China
︎ LensCulture 2014 Emerging Talent Awards Exhibition, Valid Foto, Barcelona, Spain
︎ Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London, UK

2013
︎ Rising Waters: Photographs of Hurricane Sandy, co-organized by the International Center of Photography and the Museum of the City of New York, New York, NY, USA

2012
︎ Adrift - The Unfamiliar Familiar in Modern Society, Galerie Ruberl, Vienna, Austria
︎ Residual Traces, Photofusion, London, UK
︎ FRESH 2012, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
︎ THE FENCE, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY, USA
︎ Uptown Arts Review - Grantee Show, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY, USA

2011
︎ Elephant in a Room, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
︎ Uptown Arts Review - Grantee Show, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY, USA

2010
︎ Mixology II: Photography & Photo-based Work, Curator’s Office, Washington, DC, USA

2009
︎ Olympic Visions, The Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
︎ RePlace, Ada Street Gallery, London, UK

2007
︎ Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2007, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall; Rochelle School, London; Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK (catalogue) ︎ Foundations, [space], London, UK

2006
︎ M.A. Thesis Exhibition No Right Turn, Village Underground, London, UK
︎ Tor 38, Kokerei Zollverein, Essen, Germany
︎ The Elephant Vanishes, Tate Modern, London, UK

2002
︎ Phoenix_werke. Kunst in der Zwischenzeit, Phoenix-West, Dortmund, Germany (catalogue)

URBAN INTERVENTIONS

2016 Les Livres-Lieux, Basement Sanctuaries, Montreal, CA (with Adaptive Actions)

2009 2070B, Olympic Fence, London, UK (in collaboration with Jean-François Prost)

2006 Flowers for Heygate, London, UK

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2020 Building Dialogs, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC, USA (USA) (online) (with Fabian Goncalves Borrega, Exhibit Coordinator, Art Museum of the Americas)

2018 I Be Person I No Be Number, The John and June Allcott Gallery, University of Nort Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (with Prof. Carol Magee, Makiah Belk, Uche Okpa-Iroha and The Nlele Institute, Lagos, Nigeria) as part of the For Freedoms initiative

2017 Developing Landscapes, The John and June Allcott Gallery, University of Nort Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (with Prof. Jina Valentine, Mika Conradie and The Market Photo Workshop, South Africa)

SELECTED REVIEWS | BIBLIOGRAPHY | PUBLICATIONS

2026
︎Deborah Kalb, “Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb. Gesche Würfel,” 7 March, 2026, www.deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com.
2025
︎Birgit Rieger, “Alle 2,8 km ein Foto. Bildband über die Berliner Mauer,” Tagesspiegel, 29 July 2025, B16.
︎Tagesspiegel, “Lesung und Gespräch: Das Erbe der Berliner Mauer“, Tagesspiegel, 29 July 2025, B12.
︎Paule Hammer and Florian Hesselbarth, “Podcast: Warum ist das Leben so lang? #64 - Die An- und Abwesenheit der Berliner Mauer mit Gesche Würfel,” Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany.
︎Radio Blau, “Gesche Würfel: Künstlerische Perspektiven auf die Berliner Mauer,” 6 August, 2025, www.freie-radios.net/137111.
︎Robert Slifkin, “Gesche Würfel: The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall”, Brooklyn Rail, Brooklyn, NY, February 2025. 81-82.

2024
︎Sarah Girner, “Interview with Gesche Würfel”, Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York York University, New York, NY, USA, www.as.nyu.edu
︎Ruta Venclauskas, “Interweaving Community, Family, History”, The News-Gazette, Lexington, Virginia, March 20, 2024. B1-2.

2023
︎Steve Bisson, “Gesche Würfel. Forests in the Anthropocene.” Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021 Catalog, Urbanautica Institute: Paris. 22-29.
︎Steve Bisson, “Gesche Würfel. Human Made Climate Change”, Urbanautica. Journal of Visual Anthropology and Cultural Landscapes, www.urbanautica.com
︎Karline Moeller, “Christina Massey - Curator-in-Residence Kunstraum.” Artspiel, www.artfrankly.com

2022

︎Liza Roberts, “Gesche Würfel”, Art of the State. Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, 170.
︎Karin Schulze, “Gesche Würfel”, Be Magazin 29, Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH: Berlin, 88-91.

2021
︎“Slave Dwellings”, European Photography 110, Polygon Editions: Berlin, 16-21.
︎Verena Kaspar-Eisert, “Slide Show - Rethinking Nature”, European Month of Photography Luxembourg 2021 Catalogue, May 2021: 32
︎Maggie Dunn, “Hanes Visiting Artist Eto Otitigbe lectures on art’s role in social justice”, The Daily Tar Heel”, April 25, 2021, www.dailytarheel.com
︎Elaina James, “Artist support grant recipients use money to expand projects during pandemic”, The Daily Tar Heel”, March 14, 2021, www.dailytarheel.com
2020
︎no author, “Thomas Kellner: Dialog – eine Brücke zum Unbekannten”, Das Foto Portal, September 14, 2020, www.dasfotoportal.de

2019
︎Seth Koch, “Witness This Moment”, Southern Cultures, November 7, 2019, www.southerncultures.org
︎Filiz Cicek, Radio Interview, “ArtBeat! Episode 13: Gesche Würfel – At the Hands of Persons Unknown”, WHFB Bloomington Community Radio, Bloomington, IN, September 17, 2019
︎ Scott D. Yost, “GreenHill Exhibit Celebrates 75th Anniversary Of WWII”, RHINO TIMES, August 22, 2019, www.rhinotimes.com
︎ no author, “GreenHill Celebrates 75th anniversary of World War II through photography exhibition”, YES! WEEKLY, August 19, 2019, www.yesweekly.com
︎ Aline Smithson, “Gesche Würfel: What Remains of the Day - Memories of World War II”, LENSCRATCH, January 15, 2019, www.lenscratch.com

2018
︎Sam Smith, “(Over) Exposure Is Key”, inweekly, Week of Dec 13-19, December 12, 2018: no page number
︎ Marcus Cheong, “Conversations with Photographers. What Remains of the Day - Memories of World War II, Gesche Würfel (United States)”, DECK Journal, November 2018: 34-35
︎ Nasher Museum of Art, “Gesche Würfel”, Across County Lines. Contemporary Photography from the Piedmont, (exhibition catalogue without pagination)
︎ Antonio Flores-Lobos, Radio Interview, “Gesche Würfel: Her photo exhibition in Woodstock”, Radio Kingston, Kingston, NY, August 29, 2018
︎Paul Smart, “Two shows at CPW”, Woodstock Times, August 23, 2018: 9
︎Petra Zwaka, “Geschichtsquartier Südkreuz. Historische Orte im Spannungsfeld zwischen Bewahren, Erinnern und Vermitteln”, In: Bezirksamt Tempelhof-Schöneberg (ed.) Zwischen City West und Dorfanger. Stadtentwicklungsplanung in Tempelhof-Schöneberg 1990-2020. Berlin: Stadtentwicklungsamt: 210-224.
︎Draženka Jalšić Ernečić, “Critical Mass Top 2017 - A Drive back to the TOP 50”, LinkedIn, May 22, 2018, www.linkedin.com

2017
︎ Jeff Rich, “What Remains. Eyes on the South”. Oxford American, October 23, 2017, www.oxfordamerican.com
︎Winifred Chiocchia, “Awards: Gesche Würfel. What Remains of the Day - 71 Years After the End of World War II”, LensCulture, January 27, 2017, www.lensculture.com
︎Blue Sky Gallery, “Gesche Würfel, Basement Sanctuaries”, In: Blue Sky, 2013-2014, 2014-2015. Portland, Oregon, Blue Sky Gallery (exhibition catalogue without pagination)
︎Klompching Gallery, “Gesche Würfel”, In: FRESH 2017. The Annual Summer Exhibit at Klompching Gallery. Brooklyn, New York, Klompching Gallery, 11-12
︎ Brian Howe, “The Fence Opening Celebration”, INDYweek. August 16, 2017: 27

2016
︎ Chris Vitiello, “The Most Essential Local Art of 2016 Punched Back at a Disgraceful Year”, INDYweek, December 28, 2016: 25
︎ Brian Howe, “Caitlin Cary & Gesche Würfel: Raleigh Redux”. INDYweek, November 02, 2016: 40
︎ Andrea Blanch, “Gesche Würfel, Musee Emerging Artist”, Musee Magazine, no. 15, July 11, 2016: 25
︎ Tom Mustroph, “Schwere Hinterlassenschaft”, taz Berlin, August 11, 2016: 24
︎ No author, TV Feature, “Tagesthemen. Oppressive Architecture”, Radio Berlin Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany, June 23, 2016
︎ Dietmar Buehrer, ”Gesche Würfel »Oppressive Architecture«“, Brennpunkt Magazin, 3/2016: 10

2015
︎ Francesca Perry, “Are ‘cuddlers for hire’ a sign that city life makes us lonely?”, The Guardian, December 4, 2015, www.theguardian.com
︎ Fiona Shipwright, “Inner Sanctum. Gesche Würfel’s Photographs of New York Basement Sanctuaries”, uncube, December 2, 2015, www.uncubemagazine.com
︎ Elizabeth Avedon, “The New Tork Times Portfolio Reviews. Day 1“, L’oeil de la Photographie, April 24, 2015, www.loeildelaphotographie.com
︎Anita Rao & Frank Stasio, Radio Feature, “The Land of No Things”, The State of Things - WUNC, Durham, NC, 13 May, 2015, www.wunc.org
︎Brian Howe, “We Still Love Life - Pick of the Week”, INDYweek, March 25, 2015, 38
︎ Caitlin Schneider “How to see... Beauty in a Basement”, mental_floss, Volume 14 Issue 1, 52-53

2014
︎ Katherine Oktober Matthews “Basement Sanctuaries”, GUP Magazine, December 24, 2014, www.gupmagazine.com
︎Jordan G. Teicher, “The Hidden Beauty of New York City’s Basements”, Slate, September 15, 2014, www.slate.com
︎Margot Peppers, “Inside New York City’s basements: Fascinating photo series reveals the rarely seen underground homes of superintendants and their families”, Daily Mail, September 22, 2014, www.dailymail.co.uk
︎Hanne Venderwege, “Zo hip zijn kelders in New York”, Het Nieuwsblad, September 27, 2014, www.nieuwsblad.be
︎Brian Howe, “Gesche Würfel: Basement Sanctuaries”, INDYweek, September 24, 2014, 55
︎Eve Kahn, “Decorator Underground”, The New York Times, Section D, June 4, 2014: 3
︎Amy Wolff, “Basement Sanctuaries - Photo of the Day”, PDN Online, May 29, 2014, www.potd.pdnonline.com
︎no author, “Paradies im Untergeschoss”, DIE ZEIT Online, April 10, 2014, www.zeit.de
︎Alan Feuer, “The Lairs of Super Men”, The New York Times, Metropolitan, January 19, 2014, 1, 9
︎Oliver Atwell, “Basement Sanctuaries”, Amateur Photographer, 29th March 2014, 13

2013
︎Pete Brook, “Photographer Finds Cockatiels, Jesus in NYC Basements”, WIRED, December 23, 2013, www.wired.com
︎Julianne Welby, Radio Feature, “One NY Artist: Photographer Gesche Würfel”. WNYC-New York Public Radio, May 26, 2013, www.wnyc.org
︎Eva Dewes, “Die Individualisierung der Welt. Neue Positionen der Fotografie bei Ruberl in Wien”, Parnass, 02/2013, 2-3
︎Gregg McQueen, “Sanctuary in the Cellar”, Manhattan Times, 14 (24): 12, 12 June 2013
︎ Anne Biroleau, “Weekend Portfolios: Basement Sanctuaries”, L’oeil de la Photographie, August 17, 2013, www.loeildelaphotographie.com

2012
︎Jordan Davidson, “Uptown’s Underground Spaces to be Featured in Chelsea Art Show”, DNAinfo.com, October 25, 2012, www.dnainfo.com
︎Wei Yu, “2012 Olympics Feature”, ARTCO, Aug/2012, 91
︎Bruce Diamond and Max Sass, “NoMAA’s ‘Women in the Heights’ show puts vibrancy of Northern Manhattan’s burgeoning arts scene on display”, NYDailyNews.com, April 17, 2012, www.nydailynews.com
︎John Marriott, “The changing faces of Lea Valley”, Eastside Story: Olympic Park, AJ Editions, Volume 2, 12-13
︎Rebecca McClelland, “Smoke Signals”, New Statesman, August 13, 2012, no page
︎Paul Carter Robinson, “Featured Artist: Gesche Würfel”, Artlyst, July 12- August 12, 2012, www.artlyst.com

2011
︎Brian Massumi avec Marie-Pier Boucher et Jean-François Prost, “Fragments d’action pour la ville”, INTER. Art Actuel, Volume 108 Agir, 16-21
︎Gloria Pazmino, “NoMAA exhibition celebrates women in Washington Heights and Inwood”, Manhattan Times, March 2, 2011, 3

2010
︎Macarena García González, “Londres: La Reforma urbana que alista a la ciudad para las Olimpíadas 2012”, El Mercurio, unknown 2010, E2
︎ Louis Jacobson, “City Light This Week’s Best. Gesche Würfel: Go for Gold! at Civilian Art Projects”, Washington City Paper, March 5, 2010, 29 ︎ The Pink Line Project, Video Recording, “Salon Contra: Go For Gold! with Gesche Wuerfel and Al Miner”, March 17, 2010, www.vimeo.com
︎ Heather Ring, “The Manor Garden Allotments on the Olympic Site”, bracket. on farming 1, 222

2009
︎Jarrett Gregory and Sarah Valdez (eds.), “Gesche Wuerfel”, Younger Than Jesus: The Artist Directory. New York: New Museum and Phaidon, 519
︎Peter D. Osborne, “The Unreachable Landscape: Some Themes in Photography in England 1990 to 2007”, Cahier Fotografie #2, 44-46
︎David Solman, “Sight of Eternal Life Church”, In: Lisa Rigg (ed.) Hackey. Modern, Restored, Forgotten, Ignored. 40 Years to mark 40 Years of the Hackney Society. London: The Hackney Society, 148 ︎Viewfinder Photography Gallery, A Line Is There To Be Broken. Blurb creative publishing service (exhibition catalogue without pagination)

2008
︎Photofusion, AMPS/08, England, Blurb creative publishing service, 72-73

2007
︎ Bev Bytheway and Eileen Daly (eds.), Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2007 Catalogue. London: New Contemporaries [1988] Ltd. (exhibition catalogue without pagination)
︎no author, “Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2007”, The Artists Information Company Magazine, December 2007, 14
︎no author, “Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2007”, Sunday Times: Culture, December 2, 2007, www.thetimes.co.uk
︎Colin Marrs, “Borough leads way with engagement of elderly”, Planning, Issue 1746, November 23, 2007, 22
︎no author, “New Contemporaries”, Time Out Manchester, November 9, 2007, www.timeout.com/manchester

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AS AUTHOR

2025
The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall, DISTANZ: Berlin (Foreword by Christoph Tannert, essay by Sarah Alberti, PhD)

2021

︎”Slave Dwellings”, Grandmama’s Print, Russia, September 2021, www.grandmamasmag.com/en/

︎“When Trees Are Dying”, Southern Cultures, Center for the Study of the American South, UNC Press, June 11, 2021, www.southerncultures.org

2019
︎“Jean Monnet Fellow Profile: Gesche Würfel”, Medium, Center for European Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, September 9, 2019, www.medium.com/unceurope

2018
︎“Gesche Würfel, Basement Sanctuaries”, In: Square Magazine, Issue 903, October 2018, 68-78

2017
︎“What Remains of the Day - 71 Years After the End of World War II”, In: LensCulture (2017) Best of Lensculture 2016: 152-55 and back cover

2015
︎“Gesche Wuerfel. Featured photographer. Plantation Still Lifes”, Life Framer, no date, www.life-framer.com
︎ “Basement stories: the underground shrines of Manhattan supers – in pictures”, The Guardian,December 15, 2015, www.theguardian.com

2014
︎Basement Sanctuaries, (Essay by Fabian Goncalvez Borrega, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC), Amsterdam: Schilt Publishing

2013
︎“Basement Sanctuaries”, In: Boucher, Marie-Pier; Dufresne, Jean-Maxime; Melgar, Gema and Jean-François Prost (eds.), Heteropolis, 276-281
︎ “Basement Sanctuaries”, In: PlanerIn. Fachzeitschrift für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung, Volume 1_13, Berlin: SRL, 18-19
2012
︎“Go for Gold! - Before (and After) the London Olympics”, Foto8. July 25, 2012, www.foto8.com
︎“Go for Gold!” Der Olympiapark 2006-2011, StadtBauwelt, London - Olympia Issue, June 2012, 12-19
︎“Go for Gold!”, Visual Studies, Olympics Special Issue, June 2012, Vol. 27 No.2, 141-147
︎ Go for Gold! (exhibition catalogue) (Essay by Peter D. Osborne, London College of Communication, UK), London: The Velvet Cell
︎ “Go for Gold!”, In: Isaac Marrero-Guillamón and Powell, Hilary (eds.), The Art of Dissent. Adventures in London’s Olympic State. Marshgate Press, 2012, 136-39

2011
︎“Basement Sanctuaries. Story of the Week”, Foto8. September 21, 2011. www.foto8.com

2010
︎“Fotografie und Stadtplanung: Olympische Spiele 2012”, PlanerIn. Fachzeitschrift für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung, Volume 1_10, Berlin: SRL, 28-30
︎with Peter Coles “London-Luton”, In: Hubble, Nick and Michael O’Brien (ed.) EnterText 8. Spring 2010. Liminal London. London: Brunel University, www.brunel.ac.uk

2009
︎“2070B”, In: Prost, Jean-Francois (ed.), Adaptive Actions, SPACE: London, 38-41
︎with David Kendall and Tristan Fennell “A line is there to be broken. Conversation with Prof. Caroline Knowles”, Critical Cities. Ideas, Knowledge and Agitation from Emerging Urbanists. Volume 1, London: Myrdle Court Press, 62-75
2008
︎“Farewell from the Garden Paradise” (2008), In: London Independent Photography, London Independent Photography Magazine, Summer 2008, No. 9, London, 8-11
︎ with Rooke, Alison “Mobilising Knowledge: Working with Lewisham’s Older Population”, In: Hadzi, Adnan (ed.) Deptford.TV diaries volume II: Pirate Strategies. London: OpenMute, 56-60

2007
︎with Rooke, Alison (2007) Mobilising Knowledge: Mobilising Knowledge - Solving the Interaction Gap between Older People, Planners, Experts and General Citizens within the Thames Gateway. Guidelines, Toolkit and Findings. London: Goldsmiths and UrbanBuzz (plus DVD)
︎ “Go for Gold! Photographically engaging with the Olympics 2012” (2007), In: University of East London (UEL) Rising East Online. Making regeneration our business. Issue 6, January 2007. London: University of East London, www.uel.ac.uk    ︎“Olympic Debris” (2007), In: Centre for Urban and Community Research (CUCR), Street Signs, London: Goldsmiths, University of London, autumn 2007, 21-22
2006
︎Go for Gold! (self-published artist book)

2005
︎“Terrains Vagues”, In: Europäisches Haus der Stadtkultur e.V. (ed.) Mögliche Orte - Bilderwelten, Planerwelten? (Possible Spaces - Spheres of Images, Spheres of Planners?). Gemeinnützige Werkstätten Neuss GmbH: Neuss, 64-65

2004
︎with Gregorio, Rhoda Lynn et al. Project Report Jerusalem Tourism Development Programme, Dortmunder Beiträge zur Raumplanung P/25, Projekte, Dortmund: IRPUD
︎ “Fotografierte Wahrnehmungen. Der Dortmunder Nordmarkt aus unterschiedlichen Sichten”, In: Vereinigung für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung (SRL), PlanerIn. Fachzeitschrift für Stadt-, Regional- und Landesplanung, Volume 2_04, Berlin: SRL, 60-62
2002
︎“Inspiration Phoenix. Städtebaulicher Entwurf”, In: Kaestle, Thomas für den Fachbereich Design der Fachhochschule Dortmund (ed.) phoenix-werke. kunst in der zwischenzeit. Essen: Klartext, 100-101, 114-115

ARTIST LECTURES + TALKS

2025
︎Deutsches Haus at NYU, “Artistic Reflections on 35 Years of German Reunification“
︎Rutgers University, Department of Landscape Architecture, New Brundwick, NJ, USA (upcoming)
︎Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (book launch, in conversation with Rebecca Wilton, DISTANZ)
︎ MdbK, Leipzig, Germany (book launch, in conversation with Sarah Alberti, PhD, Paule Hammer, and Florian Hesselbarth)
︎Friedenskirche, Berlin, Germany (book launch, in conversation with Pastor Andreas Bertram, Pastor Werner Krätschell, and Sören Marotz, Curator DDR Museum)
︎2x Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York University, New York, NY, USA

2024
︎Deutsches Haus at NYU, New York University, New York, NY, USA

2023

︎”Projects from the Anthropocene: On Climate Change, Space, and Time”, Tisch Earth Week/NYU2040 NOW, New York University, New York, NY, USA
︎Kunstraum, Brooklyn, NY, USA

2022

︎Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2021

︎Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC, USA

2020

︎ Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ The FENCE, Durham, NC, USA
︎ Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2019
︎ GreenHill, Greensboro, NC, USA
︎ Jewish Federation at GreenHill, Greensboro, NC, USA
︎ Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN, USA
︎ Jewish Federation at the Pensacola Museum of Art, University of West Florida, FL, USA
︎ Pensacola Museum of Art, University of West Florida, FL, USA
︎ Visiting Artist, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, USA

2018
︎ Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY, USA

2017
︎ Podbielski Galerie, Berlin, Germany
︎ Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities, Rutgers University, NJ, USA

2016
︎ 2x Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ Heavy Load-Bearing Body / Schwerbelastungskörper, Berlin, Germany

2015
︎ Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA
︎ Spectre Arts, Durham, NC, USA
︎ GreenHill/Greensboro College, Greensboro, NC, USA
︎ John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2014
︎ Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, USA
︎ plus Book Signing, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
︎ plus Book Signing, Power Plant Gallery, Durham, NC, USA (regretfully declined)
︎ plus Book Signing, Word Up, New York, NY, USA (in conversation with Joanna Castro, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance)
︎ Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA (in conversation with Prof. William Ferris, CSAS, UNC-CH)
︎ NY Photo Salon, New York, NY, USA (regretfully declined)

2013
︎ New York Public Library, New York, NY, USA (in conversation with Jaime Permuth, Faculty, School of Visual Arts)

2012
︎ Field Projects, New York, NY, USA (in conversation with Diana Caba, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance)
︎ The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), New York, NY, USA

2011
︎ The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA)/Word Up Bookstore, New York, NY, USA

2010
︎ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA
︎ Corcoran College of Art+Design, Washington, DC, USA

2009
︎ Visiting Artist: Lecture and Graduate Critiques, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
︎ Yale University/muf architects, London, UK

2008
︎ Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK

2007
︎ [space]/Goldsmiths, London, UK

2005
︎ University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

2004
︎ University of Dortmund, Dortmund, German

2003
︎ University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Museum, Cambridge, MA, USA

Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR, USA

Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL, USA

Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Washington and Lee University, Special Collections, Lexington, VA, USA

LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

Bibliothek des Museums der Bildenden Künste Leipzig (MdbK), Leipzig, DE

Rijksmuseum Research Library, Amsterdam, NL

Museum of Fine Arts, Hirsch Library, Houston, TX, US

George Eastman Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Library, Rochester, NY, US

The British Library, St. Pancras, London, UK

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (HRC); University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas Libraries, TX, US

Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag, NL

Musée de l’Elysée, Bibliothèque, Lausanne, CH

Berlinische Gallerie, Library, Berlin, DE

Museum for Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, USA

GALLERY REPRESENTATION

Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC, USA

Gesche Würfel

All work © Gesche Würfel / VG Bild-Kunst and Artists Rights Society (ARS) 2026