Why the Hell Not

In the series featured in this exhibition, American artist John Schuetz explores the classic genre of still life—but with a very personal touch.

All works were created exclusively in his own apartment, which he has transformed into an intimate studio. Instead of opulent symbolism, Schuetz relies on the delicacy of light and subtle color nuances.

The limited space of the apartment forces him to constantly invent new perspectives and arrangements.

All photographs were taken exclusively with a smartphone. In doing so, Schuetz emphasizes the immediacy and accessibility of the medium without sacrificing artistic precision.

At the same time, he creates a deliberate contrast: while digital technology enables infinite reproducibility, he physically prints each image only once, which stands in opposition to the rapid consumption of digital images.

John Schuetz was born in 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

He studied art history, theater studies, humanities, and sculpture in the U.S., Berlin, and Strasbourg. In 1971, he moved to Berlin and began working with the medium of photography.

His works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, such as the Maerz exhibition “BauHaus” in 1988 or the show “The 20th Century—A Century of Art in Germany” at the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. His works are held in the collections of the Berlinische Galerie and the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, among others.