Franz Gertsch

Gertsch’s work astonishes and surprises through its apparent simplicity: what at first may look like a mere reproduction of photographic reality conceals an innovative artistic practice in which Gertsch goes far beyond the capabilities and limits of photography. Ultimately, his work aims to preserve the essence of a fleeting moment through a long, complex and precise process of material transformation. His woodcuts and paintings often play with photographic effects such as motion blur and the eye’s never fully fixable adaptation to subtly differing depths of field across various image zones and focal planes. Gertsch deliberately employs this as a stylistic device in a continually shifting play of sharpness that the eye can never completely hold still. His unique technique bears witness to an untiring pursuit of a depiction of lived reality that is faithful to human vision—alive and never static. In this way, it redefines the boundaries of realism. This first comprehensive presentation of Gertsch’s work by Hauser & Wirth in Switzerland offers the opportunity to experience the distinctive visual and emotional impact of his art.