Seeing Zumthor. Images by Hans Danuser

Hans Danuser (*1953) is among the foremost contemporary Swiss photographers. Peter Zumthor (*1943) is an equally celebrated Swiss architect. Seeing Zumthor. Images by Hans Danuser represents a unique collaboration of their distinguished artistic visions: Danuser’s images of the buildings created by Zumthor are photographs that comment equally on the art of photography and the art of architecture.

More than twenty years ago, in a milestone event of twentieth-century architectural photography, Danuser photographed, at Zumthor’s invitation, two buildings: the protective structure built for archaeological excavations in Chur and St. Benedict’s Chapel in Sumvitg. When first shown in exhibition, those photos ignited a lively debate that has been revived with a recent exhibition of Danuser’s photographs of Zumthor’s most famous work, the spa at Therme Vals. Seeing Zumthor. Images by Hans Danuser collects these three important series of Danuser’s pictures and includes an interview with Danuser as well as an essay by art historian Philip Ursprung exploring the relationship between the two seemingly different disciplines of architecture and photography.

An extraordinary work, Seeing Zumthor. Images by Hans Danuser will continue to provoke a captivating dialogue between art historians, photographers, and architects.