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Christian Lutz

Avenue des Libellules 12
CH - 1219 Châtelaine
+41 78 778 38 43

[email protected]

23 OCT 2023
EXHIBITION
CITIZENS
THESSALONIKI, GREECE

MOMus / Thessaloniki / Greece

Exposition du 20 octobre 2023 au 2 février 2024 Vernissage le 20 octobre dès 18h

30 JUN 2023
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS
SWITZERLAND

BAART / Genève / Suisse

Exposition du 30 juin au 13 octobre 2023 Vernissage le 29 juin dès 18h

06 MAY 2023
EXHIBITION
SAMBRE HÉROS
FRANCE

Une exposition inédite de Christian Lutz

Maison Levecq - Place de Wattignies - Maubeuge (F)

Au cours de ses nombreux séjours à Maubeuge comme résident du Manège, il a observé la vie de la ville, son ordinaire et ses manifestations populaires, regardant volontiers vers les côtés. Il en tire ainsi une trentaine de photographies, au contexte parfois mystérieux, qu’il associe souvent avec facétie. Au fil des images, sans éluder la dure réalité des choses, Christian Lutz tisse un conte étrange et cocasse.

www.lemanege.com

10 MAR 2023
EXHIBITION
CITIZENS
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Festival du film et forum international sur les droits humains (FIFDH)

Vernissage le 9 mars 2023 dès 18h Nuit des Bains le 16 mars de 18h à 21h

FIFDH Genève Flux Laboratory

14 JUL 2022
EXHIBITION
CITIZENS
CORTONA, ITALY

Exposition Citizens, Cortona, Italie.
Du 14 au 17 juillet 2022. Cortona On The Move

13 MAY 2022
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS
FRANCE

Exposition Insert Coins, Maubeuge, France.
Du 14 au 25 mai 2022. Vernissage vendredi 13.05.2022 dès 18h. Le Manège Maubeuge

25 MAR 2022
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT
BELGIUM

Tropical Gift

Arte-Fac

16 DEC 2021
EXHIBITION
CITIZENS
SWITZERLAND

Galerie C / Neuchâtel / Suisse

Exposition du 16 décembre 2021 au 5 février 2022 Vernissage le 16 décembre dès 18h Rencontre publique le mercredi 26 janvier 2022 à 18h

17 NOV 2021
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT
BELGIUM

Tropical Gift

UCLouvain

16 SEP 2021
EXHIBITION
CITIZENS IN SÈTE
SÈTE, FRANCE

Exhibition of the serie Citizens in Sète, France

www.imagesingulieres.com

10 SEP 2021
CONFERENCE
CITIZENS AT MAD
FRANCE

Talk at Multiple Art Days

Romainville, Paris, France

September 10, 4pm

www.multipleartdays.fr

20 MAY 2021
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL, LES IMAGES DU POUVOIR
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Protokoll, les images du pouvoir

Galerie De Jonckheere, 7 rue de l'hôtel de Ville, Geneva, Switzerland

20 MAY 2021
BOOK VERNISSAGE
CITIZENS, BOOK VERNISSAGE AND CONFERENCE
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Lancement du livre Citizens

Projection - conférence

Maison d'Architecture / Pavillon Sicli / Genève

26 SEP 2019
EXHIBITION
PARTENAIRES PARTICULIERS IN GENEVA
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Partenaires particuliers

Genève / ex halle du MAD / Zone Industrielle des Charmilles

Vernissage 25 septembre 18 - 21h

Read more

24 JUL 2019
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL IN GIBELLINA
ITALY

Gibellina PhotoRoad Festival

Protokoll

Gibellina, Sicily

July 26 - August 3, 2019

Opening : July 26, 27, 29

Read more

01 JUL 2019
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS' NAME IN ARLES
ARLES, FRANCE

In Jesus' Name

Fisheye Gallery / ancien magasin de jouets, Arles

Read more

01 JUL 2019
EXHIBITION
ELDORADO IN ARLES
ARLES, FRANCE

ELDORADO

Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d'Arles

July 1st - September 22, 2019

Opening week : July 1-7

Public presentation of Eldorado : July 2 / 4pm

Read more

18 JUN 2019
BOOK VERNISSAGE
THE PEARL RIVER IN GENEVA
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

The Pearl River / Edition Patrick Frey

Genève / Théâtre St-Gervais / Rue du Temple 5 / 7ème étage

June 18

6:00 to 9:00 pm

Read more

10 JUL 2018
DANCE
INSERT COINS / KNUSA IN AVIGNON
AVIGNON, FRANCE

Selection suisse en Avignon Cindy Van Acker (dance) & Christian Lutz (photography)

Read more

04 JUL 2018
EXHIBITION
ANATOMIES DU POUVOIR IN AVIGNON
AVIGNON, FRANCE

Les Rencontres d'Arles / Grand Arles express

Opening: July 4, 6pm

Collection Lambert

Read more

18 MAY 2018
EXHIBITION
AFRIQUE, LES RELIGIONS DE L'EXTASE IN GENEVA
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève

Opening: May 17, 6pm

Read more

10 MAY 2018
DANCE
INSERT COINS / KNUSA IN SOFIA
SOFIA, BULGARIA

Insert Coins / Knusa

Dance performance

Cindy Van Acker (dance) & Christian Lutz (photography)

May 10 and 11, 2018

Read more

08 MAY 2018
EXHIBITION
UNREST IN SÈTE
SÈTE, FRANCE

Sète, Festival Images singulières / MAPS Group exhibition

UNREST project produced by MAPS collective during the Festival Images singulières in Sète (France)

Opening: May 8, 2018
Chai Collection Fortant, Sète, France

Read More

27 JAN 2018
EXHIBITION/DANCE
KNUSA / INSERT COINS IN GENEVA
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

INSERT COINS & KNUSA (Cindy Van Acker) Festival Antigel at Red Cross Museum, Geneva

Read more

31 OCT 2017
EXHIBITION
KNUSA & INSERT COINS IN PARIS
PARIS, FRANCE

Exhibition and dance performance  (Cindy Van Acker)

Details and schedule of performances :

www.ccsparis.com

03 JUL 2017
EXHIBITION
THE GATE IN ARLES
ARLES, FRANCE

"The Gate" at Cosmos books Arles

www.cosmosarlesbooks.com

03 JUL 2017
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS IN ARLES
ARLES, FRANCE

"Insert Coins" with Fisheye Gallery at Magasin de jouets

04 MAY 2017
CONFERENCE
INVADING PUBLIC SPACE / ZURICH
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

Invading Public Space

Conference at Kino Xenix, Zurich

May 4, 2017 at 6.30 pm.

More info

18 FEB 2017
SCREENING
INSERT COINS AT LA NUIT DE LA PHOTO / CHAUX-DE-FONDS
LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, SWITZERLAND
19 NOV 2016
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS<BR>AT LIANZHOU FOTO FESTIVAL
LIANZHOU, CHINA

Opening on November 19th 2016.
More info

12 NOV 2016
BOOK SIGNING
INSERT COINS AT PARIS PHOTO
PARIS, FRANCE

Location 1: André Frère éditions at Paris Photo, Grand Palais, main sector H at 2:30 pm. Read more

Location 2: Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière (PhotoBook Social Club), from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Address: 51, rue saint-Louis-en-l’île, 75004 Paris

08 NOV 2016
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS<BR>IN THE ESPACE IMAGES GALLERY
VEVEY, SWITZERLAND

Opening of the exhibition and concert by Louis Jucker & Emilie Zoé La Ferblanterie, Chaussée de la Guinguette, behind Vevey station at 6:30 pm.

More info

14 SEP 2016
EXHIBITION
NO MAN’S LAND<BR>AT FESTIVAL IMAGES VEVEY
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND

Official opening of the exhibition on 14 September at 6.30 pm

Check out opening times at Théâtre Vidy: vidy.ch

More info: images.ch

02 SEP 2016
SCREENING
INSERT COINS AT VISA POUR L’IMAGE
PERPIGNAN, FRANCE
17 MAY 2016
BOOK VERNISSAGE
INSERT COINS IN CAVE 12
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Vernissage du livre and concert de Louis Jucker

At 9:00 pm.

cave12.org

andrefrereditions.com

04 MAY 2016
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS<BR>AT IMAGES SINGULIÈRES FESTIVAL
SÈTE, FRANCE

Opening: Friday, May 6th at 2:30 pm.

More info

04 SEP 2015
EXHIBITION
LA MIA VALLE AT VERZASCA FOTO FESTIVAL
SONOGNO, SWITZERLAND

Opening: September 4th at 6:00 pm.

More: www.verzascafoto.com

03 SEP 2015
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT IN GAF GALLERY
HANNOVER, GERMANY

Views on Africa exhibition.

Opening: September 2nd at 7:00 pm.

Read more

08 MAY 2015
SCREENING
LIBELLULES IN MAISON<BR>DE QUARTIER DES LIBELLULES
GENÈVE, SWITZERLAND

Date: vendredi 8 mai, 18h

Location: Chateau Bloch 1, 1219 Le Lignon

07 MAY 2015
EXHIBITION
LIBELLULES IN L’HÔTEL DE VILLE DE GENÈVE
GENÈVE, SWITZERLAND

Location: 2 rue de l’Hôtel-De-Ville, salons bleu et jaune.

Opening: Friday, May 7th, at 6:30 pm.

03 MAY 2015
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT<BR>AT KOLGA TBILISI PHOTO FESTIVAL
TBILISI, GEORGIA

Location: Z. Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art.

Opening: May 3rd at 6:00 pm.

More: www.kolga.ge

01 MAY 2015
BOOK VERNISSAGE
LIBELLULES IN SALON DU LIVRE<BR>ET DE LA PRESSE DE GENÈVE
GENÈVE, SWITZERLAND

Vernissage & signature de la publication Libellules, éditions Héros-Limite, au salon du livre et de la presse de Genève le 1er mai 2015 à 18h, stand P1646.

More info: <www.salondulivre.ch>

www.heros-limite.com

04 APR 2015
EXHIBITION
TRILOGIE AT BOUTOGRAPHIES FESTIVAL
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE

Vernissage samedi 4 avril, 10h

Rencontre publique Faculté de droit de Montpellier mercredi 8 avril, 17h

More info: www.boutographies.com

20 SEP 2014
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT IN THE ART SPACES OF THE MICHAEL HORBACH FOUNDATION
COLOGNE, GERMANY

Opening : September 19th, 7pm

More info: laif.de

19 SEP 2014
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS’ NAME AT ENCONTROS DA IMAGEM FESTIVAL
BRAGA, PORTUGAL

Opening : September 18th

More info: encontrosdaimagem.com

11 SEP 2014
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL AT KAUNAS PHOTO FESTIVAL
KAUNAS, LITHUANIA

Opening : September 11th

More info: 2014.kaunasphoto.com

10 SEP 2014
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS’ NAME IN CLUB 44
LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, SWITZERLAND

Opening : September 10th / 19h

More info: www.club-44.ch

20 MAY 2014
EXHIBITION
POWER AT DOCFIELD
BARCELONA / SPAIN

Opening : May 19th

More info: www.docfieldbarcelona.org

16 MAY 2014
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS' NAME AT EWZSELECTION
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

Opening: May 15th, 5pm

Artist talk: May 25, 5pm

More info: www.ewzselection.ch

15 MAR 2014
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS' NAME AT INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY
LIÈGE, BELGIUM

More info: bip-liege.org

30 JAN 2014
EXHIBITION
IN JESUS' NAME AT ARTGENÈVE
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Location:Palexpo, Geneva, FMAC space.

More info: artgeneve.ch

12 JAN 2014
EXHIBITION
LIVRES DE PHOTOGRAPHES
GENÈVE, SWITZERLAND

Location: Bibliothèque d’Art et d’Archéologie, Genève.

More info

01 JAN 2014
EXHIBITION
LE SACRÉ ET LE PROFANE
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Location: Espace L, Geneva

More info: www.espacel.net

10 SEP 2013
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT IN GALERIE LE BLEU DU CIEL
LYON, FRANCE

Opening: 10.09

More info

01 SEP 2013
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL & TROPICAL GIFT AT NOORDERLICHT FESTIVAL
NETHERLANDS

Opening: 31.08.2013

More info: www.noorderlicht.com

31 AUG 2013
SCREENING
IN JESUS' NAME AT FESTIVAL VISA POUR L’IMAGE
PERPIGNAN, FRANCE

Screening & conference

More info: www.visapourlimage.com

18 JUL 2013
EXHIBITION
TRILOGY AT CORTONA ON THE MOVE FESTIVAL
CORTONA, ITALY
05 JUN 2013
EXHIBITION
TRILOGIE IN MUSÉE DE L’ELYSÉE
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
05 JUN 2013
EXHIBITION
FALSEFAKES IN CENTRE DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
05 OCT 2012
EXHIBITION
INSERT COINS AT SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FOTOGRAPHY
SINGAPORE
20 SEP 2012
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT AT FOTOGRAFIA - FESTIVAL INTERNAZIONALE DI ROMA
ROME, ITALY
18 SEP 2012
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL AT PHOTOGRAPHES EN ALSACE, GALERIE LA FILATURE
MULHOUSE, FRANCE
03 AUG 2012
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL AT FESTIVAL DE LA LUZ 2012
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

Centro Cultural Recoleta.

01 JUL 2012
EXHIBITION
AUX DÉPENDS DU RÉEL
LE CHÂBLE, SWITZERLAND

Location:

Le Musée de Bagnes
Chemin de l'Eglise, 13
1934 Le Châble

More info

04 MAY 2012
EXHIBITION
HØPE OU COMMENT ARMER SES YEUX
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Location:Centre de la photographie, 28, rue des Bains.

More info

20 APR 2012
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT AT DARMSTÄDTER TAGE DER FOTOGRAFIE
DARMSTADT, GERMANY

Location: Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie,
Designhaus, Eugen-Bracht-Weg 6,
64287 Darmstadt.

More info

17 MAR 2012
EXHIBITION
STAGING POLITICS IN LA CHAMBRE
STRASBOURG, FRANCE

Location: Parc des expositions, 7 Place Adrien Zeller
67000 Strasbourg.

More info

01 FEB 2011
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT IN HOST GALLERY
UNITED KINGDOM

Location: 1-5 Honduras Street
EC1Y 0TH London.

More info

27 OCT 2010
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT IN GALERIE COALMINE
WINTERTHUR, SWITZERLAND

Location: Volkart House, Turnerstrasse 1
8400 Winterthur.

10 SEP 2010
EXHIBITION
OUTWEST AT SEPTEMBRE DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE
LYON, FRANCE

Location: Bibliothèque du 1er arrondissement, 7 rue Saint Polycarpe
69001 Lyon.

More info

04 SEP 2010
EXHIBITION
TROPICAL GIFT AT FESTIVAL DES ARTS VISUELS DE VEVEY
VEVEY, SWITZERLAND

Location: Ex EPA Rue d'Italie 56-58, Vevey.

09 OCT 2009
EXHIBITION
PROTOKOLL AT FESTIVAL FOTOLEGGENDO DE ROME
ROME, ITALY

Oficine Fotografiche Associazione Culturale - Via Casale de Merode 17 a 00147 Rome.

PREVIOUS NEWS
SAMBRE HEROS
2023

Start slideshow

During his many stays in Maubeuge as artist-in-residence at the Théâtre du Manège (France) in 2022, Christian Lutz has observed the life of the town, its everyday activities and its popular events. The result is a series of photographs with a sometimes mysterious context, which he often combines with facetiousness. Throughout the images, without shying away from the harsh reality of things, Christian Lutz weaves a strange and comical tale.

CITIZENS
2021

Start slideshow

In the wake of the financial and refugee crisis, economic and social insecurity, Touting visions of impending doom and gloom, including overpopulation and social decline, they fan fears and peddle purportedly “common sense” solutions and promises that breed exclusion and intolerance. All of Europe is witnessing the political ascent of right-wing populist parties: UKIP in the UK, Dansk Folkeparti (DF) in Denmark, FPÖ in Austria, AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain and SVP in Switzerland, to name just a few.

Photographer Christian Lutz has documented right-wing populist people, movements and hot spots all over Europe. A far cry from the usual polarized coverage in the mass media, Lutz’s multi-layered photographic approach involves noiseless pictorial expressions of deep seated despair in the form of candid portraits of party leaders and followers alike and shots of their rallies, post-industrial landscapes, bars and hangouts.

THE PEARL RIVER
2019

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The Pearl River offers a photographic immersion in Macao, high place of gambling and luxury, a spectacular symbol of a megalomaniac and conquering China. This city with a mythical and sulphurous aura has inspired many writers, directors and artists. A former Portuguese possession (from the 16th century to 1999), located at the southern end of China, in the delta of the Pearl River, Macao now enjoys a privileged economic situation thanks to gambling. The beginning of the 2000s marked an important turning point for this urban center : the Chinese authorities decided to open the gambling sector to free competition, while in China itself - on the other side of the border - games of chance remain prohibited. The result of this liberalisation is an outrageous development of casino construction and a financial windfall that has multiplied. About 30 million tourists visit Macau per year. A very large majority of them come from China and Hong Kong, and go there to play. For nearly 15 years, Macao has replaced Las Vegas, in terms of wealth. Its casinos are imagined on the Vegas model and impregnated with references to Europe and its culture. Once upon a time there was America, now it's China ...

DAS GEHEN
2018

Start slideshow

February 3rd 2017 : my father was diagnosed with an advanced stage of lung cancer. Ever since then, I've been shouldering him in his struggle and photographing him on a daily basis

Christian Lutz

INSERT COINS
2016

Start slideshow

Las Vegas has imposed her lights and her share of the dream in the very heart of the Mojave desert. Sin City is not only the primary city in the State of Nevada but it’s also one of the leading tourist destinations in the United States, as travel guides praise her euphoria and lure visitors to taste the most extraordinary experiences in her lap.
Throughout the decades, the resort city’s lucrative economic activity has also made her an attractive employer with an ever-growing population. Amid financial crises, Las Vegas relentlessly seduces.
Sparkling, ultra-liberal, intersected by the famous Strip and brimming with monumental casino-hotels, this stronghold of the mafia and prostitution combines extremes and excesses. Here, gambling and sex prevail in countless parties and addictions, whilst fates are determined in a game of poker or the spin of a roulette.
It is in the heart of this quintessential, Made in USA, symbol of entertainment that Christian Lutz carries out his visual work between 2011 and 2014.
His keen sense of observation slices through the illusionary varnishes of artificial joys and exposes the aimless wanderings of lonely individuals spewed out by the carnivorous casinos as so many other silent shatters of a harmful liberal system.

LIBELLULES
2015

Start slideshow

Libellules is the culmination of a project carried out by Christian Lutz during an artist in residency program granted to him by the BAL – Biennale des Arts Contemporains aux Libellules.

In 2013, the photographer settles into the Libellules apartment complex on the outskirts of Geneva and shoots a series of images that reflect both the intimate and divided nature of sprawling low-income housing unit. The result is a series of images that reflect fleeting poetic impressions of human solitude that seamlessly weave into the majestic natural and industrial backdrop of the compound.

IN JESUS' NAME
2012

Start slideshow

From 2003 to 2012 Christian Lutz’s primary focus is to create a trilogy on power.

The political component, Protokoll, was released in 2007 and in 2010 the photographer tackles economic power in Tropical Gift, a study on Nigeria’s oil and gas circles.

Religious power is meant to be his trilogy’s final component and in 2011, Christian Lutz contacts the International Christian Fellowship (ICF), a Zurich-based evangelical church. With the agreement of the Church’s leaders, he photographs the congregation and its followers over the span of a year.

In November 2012, the third volume, In Jesus’ Name, is published. A few days later, a lawyer, hired by the ICF and representing 21 followers, protagonists in the photographs, files a complaint and obtains an immediate ban on the book.

Christian Lutz reacts by revisiting the banned photographs and delivering new images blacked out with thick banners. It is now impossible to recognize the faces. And, as an expression of the prejudice, the text of the complaint filed by the plaintiffs is printed over this obliteration. Lutz draws upon the language of the press confronted to image rights in two ways: Eliminating the individual’s identity by covering up the eyes and printing the court decision on the photographs. Strangely, the images are neither shocking nor sensational, they merely reflect attitudes and slices of life.

From a work banned stems a new, even stronger one. His trilogy has since become a quadrilogy, moving onward to evoke the power of the judiciary.

In the urge to interpret images, one tends to project in them one’s own beliefs and doubts, and soon emerges the certainty to see in them what was feared.

TROPICAL GIFT
2010

Start slideshow

This photographic essay by Christian Lutz captures the closed world of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Through his sharp approach the photographer conveys the malaise borne by civil societies that endure the consequences of these highly lucrative financial interests. The result is a bitter statement that tackles the unequal power relations between the dominators and dominated – a dark picture of how the overly abundant mineral resources of Africa are being exploited. 


During three successive trips to Nigeria, from 2009 to 2010, Christian Lutz documents this relation between dominator and dominated through two different angles. On the one hand, he photographs expatriated businessmen from the capital Abudja in their private life, at work and amid negotiations with Nigerian state employees. On the other hand, he investigates the local pollution in the Niger Delta, wherein lies the oil.

PROTOKOLL
2007

Start slideshow

From 2003 to 2006 to develop his photography series named Protokoll, Christian Lutz accompanies a member of the Swiss Federal Council on a number of official occasions throughout the world.

In Protokoll the photographer observes the mise-en-scène of authority within the hierarchies to which the political decision makers and their delegations are subjected.

He isolates the clichés that rule the world and records the unsaid and unobserved with his camera. His images show a reality that differs from the official photographic reports.

The power presented in these strictly codified rituals gives way only briefly through fleeting gestures. Christian Lutz delimits a context in which the activities of the ministers, their deputies, and the personnel that orbits this political cosmos unfold.

The photographs present a concentrated critique that calls into question a deeply ingrained system of representation causing the viewer to alternate between laughter and astonishment.

PREVIOUS
CITIZENS
2021

Play video

In the wake of the financial and refugee crisis, economic and social insecurity, Touting visions of impending doom and gloom, including overpopulation and social decline, they fan fears and peddle purportedly “common sense” solutions and promises that breed exclusion and intolerance. All of Europe is witnessing the political ascent of right-wing populist parties: UKIP in the UK, Dansk Folkeparti (DF) in Denmark, FPÖ in Austria, AfD in Germany, Vox in Spain and SVP in Switzerland, to name just a few.

Photographer Christian Lutz has documented right-wing populist people, movements and hot spots all over Europe. A far cry from the usual polarized coverage in the mass media, Lutz’s multi-layered photographic approach involves noiseless pictorial expressions of deep seated despair in the form of candid portraits of party leaders and followers alike and shots of their rallies, post-industrial landscapes, bars and hangouts.

Edition Patrick Frey
220 pages
100 images
29x20 cm
Language: french and english
ISBN: 978-3-907236-12-3

THE PEARL RIVER
2019

Play video

Post-empire in the new Middle Kingdom: what once was America is now China. After his Insert Coins project (2016) about the decline of Las Vegas, Swiss photographer Christian Lutz set off to explore the world’s new gambling capital, Macao, where everything revolves likewise around money, luxury, surfaces. This former Portuguese colony in the Pearl River delta, now one of China’s “special economic zones”, began its meteoric ascent after the turn of the millennium when the Macao government ended the monopoly on gambling and opened up the market to foreign investors. They erected temples to Mammon, monumental marble- and gold-faced casino resorts algorithmically modelled on generic Venetian and Parisian templates, bringing in thirty million—mostly Chinese—tourists a year. Macao’s regulated microclimate of gambling halls, boutiques and bars is packed with the usual businessmen and politicians in ill-fitting suits alongside upwardly mobile Chinese families in sweatpants and flip-flops. Everything here is sanitized, antiseptic, dust-free. And everything refers to simulacra of simulacra. Lutz’s insistent photographic gaze laconically scans the smooth surfaces of this brave new world—in which the first cracks are beginning to show.

Edition Patrick Frey
N. 289
Design : Pablo Lavalley
152 pages
75 color photographs
24x33 cm
ISBN : 978-3-906803-89-0

INSERT COINS
2016

Play video

Las Vegas has imposed her lights and her share of the dream in the very heart of the Mojave desert. Sin City is not only the primary city in the State of Nevada but it’s also one of the leading tourist destinations in the United States, as travel guides praise her euphoria and lure visitors to taste the most extraordinary experiences in her lap.

Throughout the decades, the resort city’s lucrative economic activity has also made her an attractive employer with an ever-growing population. Amid financial crises, Las Vegas relentlessly seduces.

Sparkling, ultra-liberal, intersected by the famous Strip and brimming with monumental casino-hotels, this stronghold of the mafia and prostitution combines extremes and excesses. Here, gambling and sex prevail in countless parties and addictions, whilst fates are determined in a game of poker or the spin of a roulette.

It is in the heart of this quintessential, Made in USA, symbol of entertainment that Christian Lutz carries out his visual work between 2011 and 2014.

His keen sense of observation slices through the illusionary varnishes of artificial joys and exposes the aimless wanderings of lonely individuals spewed out by the carnivorous casinos as so many other silent shatters of a harmful liberal system.

Publisher: André Frère Éditions (2016)
96 pages
Size: 19 x 24 cm
ISBN: 979-10-92265-29-3

LIBELLULES
2015

Libellules is the culmination of a project carried out by Christian Lutz during an artist in residency program granted to him by the BAL – Biennale des Arts Contemporains aux Libellules.

In 2013, the photographer settles into the Libellules apartment complex on the outskirts of Geneva and shoots a series of images that reflect both the intimate and divided nature of sprawling low-income housing unit. The result is a series of images that reflect fleeting poetic impressions of human solitude that seamlessly weave into the majestic natural and industrial backdrop of the compound.

Libellules was co-edited with the BAL and produced with the contributions of Michèle Freiburghaus-Lens, Luca Pattaroni and Eva Cousido.

Publisher: Héros-Limite (2015)
68 pages
Size: 21 x 28 cm

MEETINGS
2012

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For more than a year the photographer Christian Lutz has been observing Geneva's 'ballet' of international cooperation. Through his eyes, we catch a rare glimpse of the rich diversity of people, meetings and relationships and the myriad of ways they collaborate. Under-secretaries, interns, ambassadors, meteorologists, nutritionists, physicists... Lutz has observed them all. Using Geneva's inherent diversity of roles, cultures and events as a backdrop, Lutz goes beyond protocol to present us with a unique series of images; strange at times, often amusing, but always visually powerful. This book has been published with the support of the Republic and state of Geneva, via the office of the Delegate for international Geneva. It is the result of a mandate to Christian Lutz to capture one international Geneva event a week between July 2011 and December 2012. photographs have then been published on the State of Geneva's website dedicated to international cooperation.

This work presents a selection of images from this collaboration, most of which have never been shown before.

Publisher: Notari (2013)
86 pages
Size: 34 x 24 cm

IN JESUS' NAME
2012

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From 2003 to 2012 Christian Lutz’s primary focus is to create a trilogy on power.

The political component, Protokoll, was released in 2007 and in 2010 the photographer tackles economic power in Tropical Gift, a study on Nigeria’s oil and gas circles.

Religious power is meant to be his trilogy’s final component and in 2011, Christian Lutz contacts the International Christian Fellowship (ICF), a Zurich-based evangelical church. With the agreement of the Church’s leaders, he photographs the congregation and its followers over the span of a year.

In November 2012, the third volume, In Jesus’ Name, is published. A few days later, a lawyer, hired by the ICF and representing 21 followers, protagonists in the photographs, files a complaint and obtains an immediate ban on the book.

Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers (2012)
96 pages
Size: 30 x 24 cm

TROPICAL GIFT
2010

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This photographic essay by Christian Lutz captures the closed world of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Through his sharp approach the photographer conveys the malaise borne by civil societies that endure the consequences of these highly lucrative financial interests. The result is a bitter statement that tackles the unequal power relations between the dominators and dominated – a dark picture of how the overly abundant mineral resources of Africa are being exploited. 

During three successive trips to Nigeria, from 2009 to 2010, Christian Lutz documents this relation between dominator and dominated through two different angles. On the one hand, he photographs expatriated businessmen from the capital Abudja in their private life, at work and amid negotiations with Nigerian state employees. On the other hand, he investigates the local pollution in the Niger Delta, wherein lies the oil.

Publisher: Lars Mueller Publishers (2010)
96 pages
Size: 30 x 24 cm

PROTOKOLL
2007

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From 2003 to 2006 to develop his photography series named Protokoll, Christian Lutz accompanies a member of the Swiss Federal Council on a number of official occasions throughout the world.

In Protokoll the photographer observes the mise-en-scène of authority within the hierarchies to which the political decision makers and their delegations are subjected.

He isolates the clichés that rule the world and records the unsaid and unobserved with his camera. His images show a reality that differs from the official photographic reports.

The power presented in these strictly codified rituals gives way only briefly through fleeting gestures. Christian Lutz delimits a context in which the activities of the ministers, their deputies, and the personnel that orbits this political cosmos unfold.

The photographs present a concentrated critique that calls into question a deeply ingrained system of representation causing the viewer to alternate between laughter and astonishment.

Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers (2007)
92 pages
Size: 24 x 30 cm

KARPATHOS
1998

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A photographic essay by Christian Lutz on the greek island of Karpathos.

Text by: Christian Lutz, préface de Aris Georgiou

Publisher: Ides et calendes (2000)
96 pages
Size: 12 x 17 cm
ISBN: 2-8258-0161-5

PREVIOUS BOOKS
SHOWS

2023

Citizens, Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale, Greece
Insert Coins, Espace Baart, Geneva, Switzerland
Sambre Héros, Festival Itak, Maubeuge, France
Citizens, FIFDH, Flux laboratory, Geneva, Switzerland

2022

Citizens, Cortona on the Move, Italy
Insert Coins, Festival ITAK, Maubeuge, France
Tropical Gift, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

2021

Citizens, Galerie C, Neuchâtel, Suisse
Protokoll, Galerie De Jonckheere, Genève, Suisse
Citizens, Festival Images Singulières, Sète, France

2019

Eldorado, Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles, France
In Jesus’ Name, Galerie Fisheye, Arles, France
Partenaires particuliers, Festival NoPhoto, Geneva, Switzerland

2018

Trilogie, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France
Insert Coins, Musée de la Croix Rouge et du Croissant Rouge, Geneva, Switzerland

2017

Insert Coins, Centre Culturel de Suisse, Paris, France
Insert Coins, Galerie Fisheye, Arles, France
The Gate, Rencontres d’Arles, France

2016

Insert Coins, Lihanzou Foto Festival, China
Insert Coins, Espace Images Vevey, Switzerland
No man'ss land, Festival Images Vevey, Théâtre de Vidy, Lausanne, Switzerland
Insert Coins, Festival Images Singulières, Sète, France

2015

Tropical Gift, GAF Eisfabrik, Hannover, Germany
Trilogie, Rencontres photographiques de Montpellier, France
Tropical Gift, Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art, Tbilisi, Georgia

2014

Protokoll, Kaunas Photo Festival, Lituania
In Jesus’ Name, Encontros da imagem, Braga, Portugal
Tropical Gift, Michael Horback Foundation, Köln, Germany
Power, DocField, Barcelona, Spain
In Jesus’ Name, Biennale de la Photographie de Liège, Belgium
Le Sacré et le profane, espace L, Genève, Switzerland

2013

Tropical Gift, Galerie Le Bleu du Ciel, Lyon, France
Tropical Gift & Protokoll, Noorderlicht Festival, Netherlands
Trilogy, Cortona on the move Festival, Italy
Trilogie, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
Protokoll, MAC, Museum of Contemporary Art, Salta, Argentina

MONOGRAPHS

Citizens, Editions Patrick Frey, 2021

The Pearl River, Editions Patrick Frey, 2019

Insert Coins, André Frère Editions, 2016

Libellules, Editions Heros-Limite et le BAL, 2015

In Jesus’ Name, Lars Müller Publishers, 2012

Meetings, Editions Notari, 2012

Aux dépens du réel, Editions Musée de Bagnes, 2012

Tropical Gift, Lars Müller Publishers, 2010

Protokoll, Lars Müller Publishers, 2007

Karpathos, Ides et Calendes, 2000

CONTACT

Christian Lutz

Avenue des Libellules 12
CH - 1219 Châtelaine
+41 78 778 38 43

[email protected]

BIOGRAPHY

Christian Lutz lives in Geneva (Switzerland) and Athens (Greece).

He trained at the Arts School “Le 75” in Brussels. Between 2003 and 2012 Christian Lutz achieved a trilogy about power: first Protokoll about political power, then Tropical Gift about economic power and finally In Jesus’ Name about religious power. Each one of these three works became the subject of a book published by Lars Müller Publishers, and the trilogy has been exhibited on multiple occasions.

In 2016 the book Insert Coins was released (André Frère Editions) and in 2019 The Pearl River was published by Edition Patrick Frey. These two series were presented together under the title Eldorado at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in 2019.

In 2021, Christian Lutz’s work Citizens was published by Edition Patrick Frey. This serie is the result of several years of travels in European territories under populist influence.

PRIZES

2020 Swiss photographer of the year.

2019 Prix ISEM de la photographie documentaire, France (Citizens)

2013 New York Swiss Society Fellowship Prize, USA (Insert Coins)

2012 Prix Corum du public, Nuit de la Photographie, Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland (Tropical Gift)

2011 Prix Roger Pic, Scam, France (Tropical Gift)

2011 Swiss Press Photo Award (Tropical Gift)

2010 German Photography Book Prize, Germany (Tropical Gift)

2009 Prix Gianni Tabo, Festival Fotoleggendo, Italia (Protokoll)

2009 Grand Prix Images Vevey, Festival Images, Switzerland

2009 Prix du Public des Boutographies, Montpellier, France (OutWest)

2008 ewz.Selection, Swiss Photo Award (Protokoll)

2007 Prix Nicolas Bouvier, Switzerland (Protokoll)

2007 German Photography Book Prize, Germany (Protokoll)

CHRISTIAN LUTZ PHOTOGRAPHY