Artist Statement
My working method is characterized by primarily working with an analog camera, although I also use a digital camera for some projects. My photographic creation processes involve experimentation. For example, I might play with the exposure time or various aspects of development and postproduction, or, more recently, with compositing and collaging images.
The photo series “Forests in the Anthropocene” (since 2019) examplifies this process. Using a large format camera, I visited forests in the two US states of North Carolina and Massachusetts. In addition, I processed the photographs with different methods: some prints were exposed to intense heat, and others were solarized or etched with a laser cutter, distorting them beyond recognition. The variety of impacts created by global warming accelerates forest dieback worldwide, which is not only brought into the picture in terms of motifs but is also drastically visible on the material level. The consequences of human-made climate change are visualized this way.
Even though most of my photographs do not show people directly, they talk about the traces left behind by people using or passing through these spaces. In my most recent project, “The Absence and Presence of the Wall” (since 2021), I set out to find clues to the former German division along the 160 km long Berlin Wall Trail. With my camera, I document fractures that open in urban architecture and observe how nature has reclaimed space and thus seems to have obliterated traces. Architecture and nature symptomatically refer to the psychological dimension of the German division. Through conversations and interviews with contemporary witnesses, residents along the Wall path, and those affected, I uncover wounds and document the history of reunification.
I examine urban and natural landscapes from a socio-political perspective derived from my training as an artist, spatial planner, and visual sociologist. The subject of my research is the extent to which architecture is used to stabilize political systems and visualize social hierarchy. I would like to highlight two series of works, “Slave Dwellings” (2014-2023) and “A Small Study of Concentration Camp Architecture” (2015-2022).
I draw inspiration from the places where I live. Having lived in many different places and environments, from rural to suburban to urban, in Germany, England, and the United States, my projects are international yet site-specific. My marriage to an African American man has sensitized me to explore our relationship and the history of our families in the U.S. and Germany through projects that address slavery, the Holocaust, and World War II, among other topics. Accordingly, I am interested in themes that reach beyond the field of art. Through my projects, which are preceded by intensive research and span several years in their execution, I want to contribute to an interdisciplinary and transcultural dialogue and make postcolonial historiography visible.
Bio
Gesche Würfel is a visual artist based in New York City. She holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), an MA in Photography and Urban Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London (UK), and a Diploma in Spatial Planning from the Technical University Dortmund (Germany).
Her work has been exhibited, published, and awarded internationally; exhibition venues include Tate Modern, London (UK), Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (D), David Zwirner, New York (USA), Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) Raleigh, NC (USA); Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC (USA); Goldsmiths Center for Contemporary Art, London (UK); International Center of Photography, New York (USA); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MA (USA), Singapore International Photography Festival (SG).
Würfel is the author of Basement Sanctuaries (Schilt Publishing 2014). Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, WIRED, Slate, and many other outlets. She is a recipient of grants from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Puffin Foundation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), among others. She was selected for the Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2007. Würfel was chosen twice for The New York Times Portfolio Review, and was a finalist in the 2019, 2018, and 2017 Lange-Taylor Award among others. Collecting institutions are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Museum, MA (USA) and the Portland Museum of Art, OR (USA). Würfel 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
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
︎ Scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn, Germany
︎Scholarship, 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
︎ Book Subvention Grant, NYU Center for the Humanities, New York, NY, USA
︎ Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ, 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 (forthcoming)
︎ 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
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
︎ 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)
︎ Memory Mirage, Kunstraum, Brooklyn, NY, USA
︎ Mirror with a Memory, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Lobby, New York, NY, USA