Balthasar Burkhard

Balthasar Burkhard was a photographer renowned internationally for his large-format monochromatic photographic series.

Biography of Balthasar Burkhard

The artist was born in 1944 in Bern, Switzerland. He trained under photographer Kurt Blum and opened his own studio in 1965. He was soon engaged as a documentation photographer by the Kunsthalle Bern, working closely with curator Harald Szeemann and capturing many artists, which sparked his interest in contemporary art.

Burkhard gained international recognition in 1969 with an exhibition of large-format photographs created in collaboration with Bernese artist Markus Raetz. They were pioneers in using a self-developed technique to expose photographs directly onto canvases.

After relocating to the United States, Burkhard sought work as an actor in Hollywood. However, he was appointed as a Visiting Lecturer of Photography at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he taught from 1976 to 1978. His first solo exhibition in 1977 at the Zolla/Lieberman Gallery in Chicago led to frequent visits to New York and involvement in various film projects.

Upon returning to Switzerland in 1983, Burkhard worked in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Bern, collaborating with various artists. His work was frequently showcased in exhibitions around the world, sometimes appearing in up to 20 group exhibitions simultaneously. Towards the end of the 20th century, he shifted his focus to urban photography.

His solo exhibitions have been held at various galleries and museums worldwide, including Galerie Tschudi in Zuoz, Zuger Kantonsspital in Baar, MASI LAC Lugano Arte et Cultura in Lugano, Fabian & Claude Walter Galerie in Zurich, Museum Folkwang in Essen, Galerie Sfeir-Semler in Hamburg, Galerie Aline Vidal in Paris, and many more.

In 2007, Burkhard married Vida Rudis. Three years later, in 2010, the artist died. 

Balthasar Burkhard's Art Style

Balthasar Burkhard's photographs stand out for their distinctiveness. His use of black and white serves as the sole structural element of his images. Motifs, objects, and scenes emerge from the darkness as though placed against a neutral background by the photographer.

Burkhard skillfully "composes" still lifes without staging them, allowing the subjects to captivate the viewer naturally, without any sense of intrusion. His work does not capture a fleeting moment or reference a time before or after; instead, it embodies the essence of timeless imagery.

His work has been celebrated for its "hermeticism and poetic depth," described as that of a "hyperrealist dreamer," and likened to the traditions of Tanizaki Junichiro and Gustave Courbet, whom Burkhard greatly admired. A central theme in Burkhard's work is the depiction of the female form.