Artist Statement
My working method is characterized by primarily working with an analog camera, although I also use a digital camera for some projects. Some of my photographic creation processes involve experimentation. For example, I might play with the exposure time or various aspects of development and postproduction.
Exemplary for this process is the photo series Forests in the Anthropocene (since 2019). 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 man-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 (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 up 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, which, deriving from my training as a spatial planner and visual sociologist, deals with architecture in a specific way. The question of the extent to which architecture is used to stabilize political systems and visualize social hierarchy is the subject of my research. I want like to highlight two series of works, Slave Dwellings (2014-2022) 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 in 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 would like to contribute to a dialogue that is interdisciplinary and transcultural 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 the Tate Modern (UK); the Künstlerhaus Bethanien (D); the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) Raleigh, NC (USA); the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC (USA); the Goldsmiths Center for Contemporary Art, London (UK); the International Center of Photography, NY (USA); the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MA, (USA); the Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) (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.
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 (with distinction)
2003 University of Dortmund, Germany, Diploma Spatial Planning (magna cum laude)
GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS /
AWARDS / RESIDENCIES
2023
︎ 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
︎ Faculty 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, 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
︎ 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
2022
︎ The Absence and Presence of the Berlin Wall, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
2021
︎ When Trees Are Dying, Tracye 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 (catalogue)
2008
︎ A Line is There to be Broken, This is not a Gateway (TINAG) Festival, London, UK (publication)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
︎Past & Present, organized by Der Greif, Pavillon 333 at Pinakothek der Moderne and ZIRKA, Munich, Germany (upcoming)
︎ Mirror with a Memory, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY, USA (upcoming)
︎ Mirror with a Memory, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Lobby, New York, NY, USA (upcoming)
︎ Friends Seminary Contemporary Art Preview, David Zwirner, New York, NY, 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 (Juror Nat Trotman, Curator of Performance and Media at the Guggenheim R. Solomon Museum in New York)
︎ FRESH. A fundraising exhibition featuring new works by NC artists, Artspace, Raleigh, NC, USA
2019︎ 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 (catalogue)
︎ The FENCE, Durham, NC
︎ FRESH 2017, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (catalogue)
︎ 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
2003
︎ 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
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
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
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
2003
︎“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
2023
︎”Projects from the Anthropocene: On Cimate 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
GALLERY REPRESENTATION Tracey Morgan Gallery, Asheville, NC, USA