Urs Stahel

Brief Biography

Urs Stahel studied German Literature and Linguistics, History and Philosophy at the University of Zurich. After graduating, he worked as an editor for "Der Alltag" and for the art magazine "du," as an art critic for "Weltwoche" and for "ART" in Hamburg, and as a freelance publicist and curator. 1986-92 Lecturer at the Höhere Schule für Gestaltung in Zurich. 1986 Co-founder of the Kunsthalle Zürich. 1993 Co-founder of Fotomuseum Winterthur. 1993-2013 Director and curator of Fotomuseum Winterthur. 2000-2003 Co-founder and curator of the Coalmine in Winterthur. 

Since 2013 he has worked independently as a curator, author, lecturer and consultant - as curator mainly for the Fondazione MAST in Bologna, for which he is also building up the collection of industrial and work related photography. As a consultant for the Art Vontobel art collection in Zurich and for Foto Colectania in Barcelona, as President for Spectrum - Photography in Switzerland (2014-2020). Lecturer/visiting professor/visiting fellow for ZHdK (2013-2018), University of Zurich (2014-2015), University of Lucerne (2018) and for London College of Communication (2017-2019). In 2015 he was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim/Grand Prix Swiss Art, and in 2019 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Culture and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne.

He is curator of many exhibitions and author/editor of numerous books (see extended full CV).

Current Projects

- curating exhibitions at Fondazione MAST in Bologna

- building up a collection of photography of industry, techology and work at Fondazione MAST in Bologna

- adviser to Art Vontobel in Zürich and to Foto Colectania in Barcelona

- several curatorial and text projects

CV

2022 – Lecturer team of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Theory and History of Photography at University of Zurich
2017 – 2020Visiting fellow of the University of Arts, London
2017Lecturer at University of Lucerne
2014 – Consultant to the art collection of Vontobel
2014 – 2021Member of Volkart Fachkommission on Photography
2014 – 2020President Spectrum - Photography in Switzerland
2014Visiting Professor at University of Zurich
2013 – Curator of MAST – Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione e Tecnologia in Bologna / Consultant of the MAST collection of industrial photography
2013 – 2018Lecturer at the ZHdK, Zurich
1993 – 2013Co-Founder of Fotomuseum Winterthur, Director and Curator
1986Co-founder of Kunsthalle Zürich (until 1996 board member)
1982 – 1992Freelance curator and art critic, editor of art magazine «du», «Der Alltag» and lecturer in history of art and photography at the School of Art and Design in Zurich.
1981Masters degree in Germanistik (Literature and Linguistic), History and Philosophy (Liz.Phil.I.)

Awards and Recognitions

2019Honorary doctorate / Ehrendoktor, Universität Luzern / University of Lucerne, Switzerland
2015Prix Meret Oppenheim (Swiss Grand Prix of Arts)
1998UBS Jubiläumsstiftung

Curator of Exhibitions

2021 – 2022Face Control, Foto Colectania, Barcelona
2021Richard Mosse: Displaced. Fondazione MAST, Bologna
2020André Cepeda: Ballad of Today. Maat, Lisbon
2020Walead Beshty: Industrial Portraits. MAST, Bologna
2020Uniform. MAST, Bologna
2020MAST Foundation Grant of Photography, Bologna
2019Kelvin Haizel - Babysitting a Shark in a Cold Room. Winner of A New Gaze 2 - Vontobel Photography Prize. Vontobel, Zürich
2019Thomas Struth: Nature & Politics. MAST, Bologna
2019Anthropocene - Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicolas de Pencier. MAST, Bologna
2018Pendulum - Moving Goods, Moving Peolpe (in photographs from the MAST collection), MAST Bologna
2018W. Eugene Smith: Pittsburgh, MAST Bologna
2018MAST Foundation Grant for Photography 2018 (Mari Bastashevski, Sara Cwynar, Sohei Nishino, Christóbal Olivares). MAST, Bologna
2018Pendulum - Moving Goods, Moving Images. MAST, Bologna
2017Thomas Ruff: Machine & Energy. MAST, Bologna
2017Lavoro in movimento, video exhibition. MAST, Bologna
2017Eva O'Leary: Concealer, Vontobel, Zürich
2017Lewis Baltz (retrospectiv), Mapfre Foundation, Madrid
2017Power of Images. MAST Bologna
2016Dayanita Singh: Museum of Machines. MAST, Bologna
2016Luigi Ghirri, Mai 36 Gallery, Zurich
2016Jakob Tuggener: Factory 1933-1953 (co-curated with Martin Gasser), MAST Bologna
2016A Tile, Some Milk, A Machine and Logistics – Photographs of Emilia-Romagna at Work. MAST, Bologna
2015E.O. Hoppé: Unveiling a secret. MAST, Bologna
2015Industry Now. MAST, Bologna
2015GD4PhotoArt Award. MAST, Bologna
2015(7P) - 7 Places, 7 Precarious Fields. FF FotoFestival. 7 Museums/Artspaces in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg
2015Dall‘ Album al Libro - L’Industria Italiana nell’Editoria Fotografica. MAST, Bologna
2014David Lynch: Factory Photographs (co-curated with Petra Gilroy). MAST, Bologna
2014Industrial Worlds 2. MAST, Bologna
2014HR - Human Capital. MAST, Bologna
2013Sharon Ya’ari: Leaning towards myself. Tel Aviv Museum of Art
2013Industrial Worlds. MAST, Bologna
2012Amar Kanwar – Evidence. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2011Shirana Shabazi: Much like Zero. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2011Ai Weiwei – Interlacing. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2010Stefan Burger – Under the circumstances. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2009Darkside II – Photographic Power and Violence, Disease and Death Photographed. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2008Darkside I – Photographic Desire and Sexuality Photographed. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2007Zoe Leonard – Photographs. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2007David Goldblatt – South African Photographs 1952-2006. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator with Martin Parr)
2006Real Fantasies – New Photography from Switzerland. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2005 – 2006Simultanuous – Two Collections of Austrian Photography. From the Collections of the Federal Chancellery and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. Museum der Moderne Salzburg / Fotomuseum Winterthur
2005Hans Danuser. The Manesh, Moscow
2005Robert Frank – Storylines. Fotomuseum Winterthur/Fotostiftung Schweiz (Co-Curator)
2005Rineke Dijkstra – Portrait. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2005Life and Death in Bénin – African Photographers from the Alex Van Gelder Collection. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2005Trans Emilia – The Linea di Confine Collection. A Territorial Reconaissance of the Emilia Romagna (With Marina Ballo Charmet , Lewis Baltz, Olivo Barbieri, Andrea Botto, Michele Buda, John Davies, Paola De Pietri, Gilbert Fastenaekens, John Gossage, William Guerrieri, Guido Guidi, Axel Hütte, Gianluca Liverani, Walter Niedermayr, Stephen Shore and Marco Signorini. Fotomuseum Winterthur; Palazzo Magnani, Reggio-Emilia (Co- Curator)
2004Arnold Odermatt – Collisions. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2004The Ecstasy of Things – From the Functional Object to the Fetish in 20th Century Photographs. Fotomuseum Winterthur / Fotostiftung Schweiz (Co-Curator)
2004The Dream of Myself, the Dream of the World – Set 2 from the collection of the Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2003Boris Mikhailov – Private pleasures, the burdens of boredom, public decay – a retrospective. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2003Valérie Jouve – Résonances. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2003Roni Horn – If on a Winter’s Night … Fotomuseum Winterthur
2003Anders Petersen – «Ich Dich lieben, Du mich auch?". Fotomuseum Winterthur
2003Order & Chaos (With Sonja Braas, Nanna Hänninen, Marjaana Kella, Inés Lombardi, Marianne Müller, Juha Nenonen, Sophy Rickett und Janaina Tschäpe). Fotomuseum Winterthur
2002Hans-Peter Feldmann: Art Exhibition. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2002Phoebee Maas – Moments In-Between. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2002Joachim Brohm – Areal. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2002Claudio Moser – Walk On. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2002Luigi Ghirri – Photographs 1969-1992. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2002Chic Clicks – Creativity and Commerce in Contemporary Fashion Photography. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2001Jitka Hanzlová – Rokytnik, Inhabitants. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2001Dunja Evers – Constellations. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2001Hans Danuser – Frost. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2001Trade – Commodities, Communication, and Consciousness in World Trade Today. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2000Karl Blossfeldt – Forms of Nature. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2000Wendy Ewald – Secret Games. Collaborative Projects with Children 1969-1999. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2000Takashi Homma – Tokyo Suburbia. Fotomuseum Winterthur
2000Daido Moriyama – Stray Dog. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2000Remake Berlin (Clegg&Guttmann, Remy Markowitsch, Jürgen Teller, Frank Thiel, Boris Mikhailov, Stephan Wilks, Astrid Klein, Céline van Baalen). Fotomuseum Winterthur
2000Hybrid (with: David Deutsch, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Katrin Freisager, Annika von Hausswolff, Isabell Heimerdinger, Hans Hemmert, Jörg Sasse and Günther Selichar). Fotomuseum Winterthur / Rencontres International, Arles
2000Remake Berlin (Clegg&Guttmann, Remy Markowitsch, Jürgen Teller, Frank Thiel, Boris Mikhailov, Stephan Wilks, Astrid Klein, Céline van Baalen). Fotomuseum Winterthur, NBK Berlin, Rencontres Internationales, Arles
1999Fazal Sheikh: Afghanistan – The victor weeps. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1999Henry Bond – The Cult of the Street. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1999Adam Fuss – Less of a test than earth. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1999Unheimlich (Uncanny – Unheimlich) (Vanessa Beecroft – Anna Gaskell – Dana Hoey – Natacha Lesueur – Wendy McMurdo). Fotomuseum Winterthur
1999Unheimlich (Uncanny – Unheimlich) (Vanessa Beecroft – Anna Gaskell – Dana Hoey – Natacha Lesueur – Wendy McMurdo). Fotomuseum Winterthur
1999Young – New Photography in Swiss Art. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1998Andreas Gursky – Photographs 1994-1998. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1998Nicolas Faure – From One Switzerland to Another. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1998Nan Goldin – I ́ll be your mirror. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1997Axel Hütte – Theorea. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1997Bilderzauber (The Magic of Images – A Serious Gam) (With Ian Anüll, Martin Blum, Daniele Buetti, Fischli/Weiss, Rémy Markowitsch, Gérald Minkoff, Markus Raetz, Hannes Rickli, Christoph Rütimann, Adrian Schiess, Laurent Schmid, Hugo Suter, Bernard Voïta, Cécile Wick). Fotomuseum Winterthur
1997Weltenblick / World Views – Reportage Photography and its Medias. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1997Berge Versetzen / Moving Mountains – Girola ́s Power Stations in the Alps. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1997Photography after Photography. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1996Herkunft? (Origin?) (Gosbert Adler, Tina Barney, Richard Billingham, Fazal Sheikh, Carrie Mae Weems, Anthony Hernandez). Fotomuseum Winterthur
1995Jean-Louis Garnell: Werke 1985-95. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1995Seiichi Furuya – Mémoires. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1994Peter Hujar – A Retrospective. Fotomuseum Winterthur / Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Co-Curator)
1994Gilles Peress – Farewell to Bosnia. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1994Ed van der Elsken – Once Upon a Time. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1994Gilles Peress – Farewell to Bosnia. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1994Peter Hujar – A Retrospective. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co- Curator)
1994Industriebild (Industrial Image). Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1993Paul Graham – New Europe. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1993Lewis Baltz: Rule without Exception. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
1993William Eggleston, Photographs. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1993Paul Graham – New Europe. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1993Aus der Romandie. Fotomuseum Winterthur
1990Wichtige Bilder – Fotografie in der Schweiz (Important Images – Photography from Switzerland), Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich
1989Gerhard Merz - Costruire. Kunsthalle Zürich
1988Zart – Zurich Art. Stadtpark Graz
1987Open End – Young Swiss Art, Kunsthaus Nürnberg, Städtische Galerie Erlangen and various galeries in the area, 1987

Editor of Books and Catalogues

2020André Cepeda: Ballad of Today. Pierre von Kleist
2019Walter Keller - Beruf: Verleger. Edition Patrick Frey (Ed. together with Miriam Wiesel)
2018Giorgio Wolfensberger: Foto Povera. Edition Patrick Frey
2016Lewis Baltz. Göttingen 2016
2015[7P] -- [7] Orte [7] Prekäre Felder / [7] Places [7] Precarious Fields. Heidelberg 2015
2012Amar Kanwar - Evidence. Göttingen 2012 (Co-Editor)
2012Rosângela Rennó: Frutos estranhos / Seltsame Früchte / Strange Fruits. Lisbon, Winterthur 2012. Eds. Isabel Carlos, Nuno Crespo, Rosângela Rennó, Urs Stahel
2011Ai Weiwei, Interlacing, Göttingen 2011 (Co-Editor)
2010Where Three Dreams Cross – Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Fotomuseum Winterthur (Co-Curator)
2010Stefan Burger: Sehr sehr dünne Suppe - very very thin soup. Winterthur/Basel. Eds. Urs Stahel / Sabine Saschl
2009Darkside II. Fotografische Macht und fotografierte Gewalt, Krankheit und Tod. Photographic Power and Violence, Disease and Death Photographed. Winterthur, Göttingen 2009
2008Darkside I. Fotografische Begierde und fotografierte Sexualität - Photographic Desire and Sexuality Photographed. Winterthur/Göttingen 2008
2007Zoe Leonard - Fotografien / Photographs. Winterthur/Göttingen 2007
2006Reale Fantasien / Real Fantasies. Neue Fotografie aus der Schweiz / New Photography from Switzerland. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig. Winterthur / Basel 2006
2005Essays über Robert Frank. Winterthur / Göttingen 2005. Hrsg. /Eds. Martin Gasser, Urs Stahel, Peter Pfrunder, Thomas Seelig
2005Simultan. Österreichische Fotografie seit 1945. Wien 2005
2005Trans Emilia - Sammlung Linea di Confine: Territoriales Erkunden der Emilia-Romagna. Winterthur/Basel 2005. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig
2004The Ecstasy of Things. From the Functional Object to the Fetish in 20th Century Photographs. Winterthur / Göttingen 2004. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig
2004Im Rausch der Dinge. Winterthur / Göttingen 2004. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig
2003Order & Chaos. Winterthur 2003
2003Boris Mikhailov: A Retrospective. Winterthur/Göttingen 2003
2003If on a winter's night ... Roni Horn. Winterthur / Göttingen 2003
2003Anders Petersen: "Ich Dich lieben, Du mich auch?" Winterthur 2002
2003Urs Stahel: Ja, was ist sie denn, die Fotografie? Winterthur 2003
2003Urs Stahel: Well, what is Photography? Winterthur 2003
2002Claudio Moser: Walk On. Winterthur/Basel2002
2001Dunja Evers – Zustände / Constellations. Göttingen 2001. Eds. Stefan Gronert / Urs Stahel
2001Jitka Hanzlová - Bewohner. Winterthur 2001
2001Trade - Commodities, Communication, and Consciousness in World Trade Today. Winterthur / Zürich. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig / Martin Jaeggi
2001Trade - Waren, Wege und Werte im Welthandel heute. Winterthur / Göttingen 2001. Eds. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig / Martin Jaeggi
2000Hybrid (with: David Deutsch, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Katrin Freisager, Annika von Hausswolff, Isabell Heimerdinger, Hans Hemmert, Jörg Sasse and Günther Selichar). Fotomuseum Winterthur
2000Remake Berlin. Göttingen 2000. Eds. Kathrin Becker / Urs Stahel
1999Young - Neue Fotografie in der Schweizer Kunst. Winterthur / Basel 1999
1999Uncanny / Unheimlich. With works by Vanessa Beecroft, Anna Gaskell, Dana Hoey, Natacha Lesueur, Wendy McMurdo. Winterthur 1999
1998Nicolas Faure: Von einer Schweiz zur anderen / De Suisse en Suisse. Winterthur / Zürich-Berlin-New York
1997Berge Versetzen - Girolas Kraftwerke in den Alpen. Scheidegger & Spiess. Eds. Michael Jakob und Urs Stahel
1997Weltenblicke - Reportagefotografie und ihre Medien. Winterthur 1997. Eds. Martin Gasser / Urs Stahel
1997Axel Hütte – Theorea. Winterthur / München 1997
1997Herkunft? / Origins - Gosbert Adler, Tina Barney, Richard Billingham, Anthony Hernandez, Fazal Sheikh, Carrie Mae Weems. Winterthur 1997
1996Bilderzauber: ein seriöses Spiel. Winterthur 1996
1995Jean-Louis Garnell, Werke 1985-95. Winterthur 1995
1995Seiichi Furuya: 1995 Mémoires. Winterthur / Göttingen 1995
1994Peter Hujar: Eine Retrospektive / a retrospective. Scalo Publisher. Eds. Hripsimé Visser / Urs Stahel
1994Industriebild: der Wirtschaftsraum Ostschweiz in Fotografien von 1870 bis heute. Winterthur / Zürich 1994. Eds. Urs Stahel / Giorgio Wolfensberger
1993Aus der Romandie. Winterthur 1993. With works by Jacques Berthet, Laurence Bonvin, Silvie & Chérif Defraoui, Deluxe, Nicolas Faure, Alan Humrose, Jean-Pascal Imsand, Eric Lanz, Ursula Mumenthaler, Alexandra Rajic, Olivier Richon, and Maurice Vouga.
1993Lewis Baltz: Regel ohne Ausnahme.
1993Paul Graham: New Europe. Winterthur 1993
1990Wichtige Bilder - Fotografie in der Schweiz. Zürich 1990. Eds. Urs Stahel / Martin Heller
1988ZART - Fünf Künstler aus Zürich. Winterthur / Graz 1988
1987Offenes Ende – Junge Schweizer Kunst. Schweizer Kunst in Nürnberg und Erlangen. Verlag für Moderne Kunst, 1987

Lecturer

2021Richard Mosse: Displaced. Fondazione MAST, Bologna
2019LCC, London College of Communication, London
2019University of Luzern, Lucerne
2019Raffles School of Design, Graphics and Photography, Milano
2019CCA, Tel Aviv
2018Photographers' Gallery, London
2018Darmstädter Fototage, Darmstadt
2017Bocconi University, Milano
2017University of Luzern
2016MAXXI, Rome
2016University of Toronto
2014University of Zurich
2014Gesellschaft für Deutsche Photographiem, Berlin
2013 – 2018Zurich University of Arts
2013University of Rome, La Sapienza
2013Photo Festival, Delhi
2013Fotofestival Landskrona, Schweden
2011India International Centre (IIC), Delhi
2011University of Lausanne
2011Centrum for Fotografi, Stockholm
2008Macedonian Center of Photography, Skopje
1995 – 2005Triennale of Photography, Hamburg Ludwig Museum, Cologne Academy of Architecture, Gerona Academy of Art and Architecture, Venice Humboldt University, Berlin Kulturhuseet, Stockholm etc.

Member of Juries and Boards

2019Jury member, Vontobel Photography Prize
2019Jury member, Österreichischer Staatspreis für die Fotografie, Wien
2018Jury member, MAST Foundation Grant for Photography, Bologna
2017Jury chair, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Grant for Photography, Delhi
2013Jury member, Aimia AGO Photography Prize (The Grange Prize), Toronto
2008Jury member Hyères Festival of Photography and Fashion
2007Jury member Deutsche Börse Prize, London
2006Austrian Photography Prize, Vienna 2006
2006Fotopres, Barcelona 2006 and 2007
2005Jury Member, La Vision du Réel, documentary film festival, Nyon
2003Jury member Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles
2002Jury member Hasselblad Award, Gothenburg
1999Jury member, Spectrum Prize, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hannover
1998Jury member, Albert Renger-Patzsch-Price, Essen
1986 – 1996Co-founder of Kunsthalle Zurich and board member
etc.