Griet Van Malderen
"WILD SOULS"

Exhibition: 29 January – 21 March 2023
Opening: Saturday, 28 January, 5-9pm

Gallery Studio Naegeli in the house of Gstaad photographer Jacques Naegeli (1885 - 1971) presents its new photo exhibition "Wild Souls" with Belgian wildlife photographer Griet Van Malderen.

It is rare to come across a woman photographer in the African savanna, armed with her camera and lens! Not only in Naegeli's times but even today, this is still a male-dominated field. Griet Van Malderen is an exception. She has expressed her talent since her first travels with her family in South Africa. Through her work, she is committed to protecting the fauna and flora from the devastating effects of human intervention in this delicate balance.

The exhibition "Wild Souls" shows a selection of recent photographs by Griet Van Malderen from the wilderness of Africa to the iconic polar bears in Churchill, Canada. Photography enthusiasts can look forward to large-format works. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to photographs of young animals especially for children. Also on view are prints made using the collodion process; this gives the photograph a timeless and nostalgic quality and, depending on the incidence of light, creates its own vibrancy.

In addition to the works of Griet Van Malderen, some photographs from the archive of Jacques Naegeli are presented in the exhibition. The pictures by the Gstaad photographer were taken during his travels through Africa in the 1930s and 1940s. African nature and animals are focal points of Naegeli's photography; he also wrote about them in his 1941 book "Sudan". This aspect of Naegeli's work served as inspiration for the new exhibition at Studio Naegeli.

Also on view will be works by Residency 2022 designers Pierre & Cédric Koukjian, Residency 2022 artist Anthony Bannwart and a selection of exclusive furniture by Atelier Oï, Trix and Robert Haussmann, Aebi & Vincent, Tomek Archer, Tomoko Azumi, Koni Ochsner and Susi & Ueli Berger.

Griet Van Malderen: grietvanmalderen.com
Jacques Naegeli Archive: studionaegeli.com/pages/photoarchive