JEFF WALL AT THE FONDATION BEYELER

Since the late 1970s, Jeff Wall has played a key role in establishing photography as an independent visual medium within contemporary art. The Fondation Beyeler is now dedicating an extensive solo exhibition to the internationally renowned artist, realized in close collaboration with him.

The artist, born in Vancouver in 1946, is considered the founder of "staged" photography: his motifs initially appear like snapshots, but his mostly large-format photographs, complexly and subtly composed from a multitude of individual shots, are predominantly entirely constructed visual worlds. Often inspired by everyday scenes or by historical art, his photography combines elements of painting, cinema, and literature—an approach he himself describes as "cinematographic." In shots that often resemble film stills, he meticulously recreates fictional realities, memories of experiences and observations.
Wall does not work in series; each of his images is a unique composition, and the image-finding process can take years. Since the mid-1990s, he has expanded his repertoire, working with black-and-white prints and, for more than 15 years, with color photo prints.
Among the 55 works assembled in the extensive solo exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler are Wall's iconic large-format transparencies in lightboxes from his artistic beginnings, as well as black-and-white photographs and color photo prints. This allows for diverse thematic and formal connections to be established between older and newer works in each of the eleven exhibition rooms. Additionally, several new works will be publicly shown for the first time at the Fondation Beyeler.

For the comprehensive exhibition catalogue, the artist himself has written texts that provide a unique insight into his work and conceptual considerations.

January 28, 2024 | 2–3 PM

Lecture by Jeff Wall
on the occasion of the opening of his exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler

Fondation Beyeler
Baselstr. 101
4125 Riehen
Switzerland

Furthermore, on January 30, 2024, Wall will give a lecture at the Lenbachhaus as part of gallerist Jörg Johnen's donation to the Lenbachhaus and the exhibition Fragment of an Infinite Discourse. Through the donation, Wall's works in the Lenbachhaus collection were complemented by his work Just Washed from 1997. In the lecture, Jeff Wall will talk about his time with Jörg Johnen as a gallerist and provide insights into his current artistic considerations.

January 30, 2024 | 7–9 PM

Lecture by Jeff Wall
on the occasion of the donation of his work Just Washed, 1997

Lenbachhaus München
Luisenstr. 33
80333 Munich

In our interview section, you can find an excerpt from the conversation between Jeff Wall and curator Martin Schwander.

Image credits: Jeff Wall, Milk, 1984, Transparency in lightbox, 187.0 x 229.0 cm, collectionFRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims © Jeff Wall // Jeff Wall, Morning Cleaning, Mies van der Rohe Foundation, Barcelona,1999, Transparency in lightbox, 187.0 x 356.0 cm © Jeff Wall // Jeff Wall, The Thinker, 1986, Transparency in lightbox, 211.0 x 229.0 cm © Jeff Wall