subjective – objective
Many of Gadliger's photographs are taken in cities. City life captivates even the young photographer. Whether in Basel or Buenos Aires, Riehen or Rijeka, Zurich or Zadar, he usually focuses on small scenes on the roadside, the bizarre aspects of everyday life, chance encounters along the way: snapshots of a sometimes whimsical present that he captures with his camera. He likes to pursue the seemingly inconspicuous, the trivial. He finds what he is looking for in the everyday. In his viewfinder he has chance encounters and street scenes whose humor often only reveals itself at second glance.
The photographer's second great passion is portraying artists. From 1975 to the present day, he has produced hundreds of portraits, including pictures of many well-known personalities such as Arnold Kübler, Roman Signer, Flor Garduño, Hanny Fries, Hugo Loetscher and Dieter Roth. Gadliger's portraits of artists are not snapshots, but cautious approaches to the subject. They are often series of pictures that tell little stories, arouse curiosity about the people depicted, document an encounter.
Prices and availability of photographs on request.
Portraits of artists have taken up a lot of space in Gadliger's photographic work over the years. Even as a young photographer, he began taking portraits of artists from his circle of friends. Guido Magnaguagno writes in the foreword to the volume «Im Atelier und unterwegs: Künstlerporträts»: You never get the feeling that he has set out in search of them or waited outside closed studio doors, on the contrary: he simply moves around in his world, which is the world of the people portrayed. Among his peers. A little respect, non of awe. He knows his way around, is part of the whole, a copain, a friend or at least a colleague. If you’re looking for the opposite of a paparazzo, here it is.
To mark the photographer’s 75th birthday, the Zentralbibliothek Zurich presented a slide show in June 2025, featuring artists' portraits by Werner Gadliger with music by Alan Spiljak.
Watch on YouTube:
Video, duration 18:06 min.
At the end of the 1970s, London has a lot to offer the attentive observer. Contrasts collide, which the photographer captures with his camera.
The French metropolis always has surprises in store for cosmopolitan travelers. Every visit rewards the attentive observer with new visual impressions, even seemingly familiar sights reveal themselves from unusual angles.
France’s second-largest city is also the country’s oldest. In ancient times, Massalia was an important trading hub for the Greeks and Romans. To this day, Marseille – as the gateway to the Mediterranean – is shaped by immigrants, not least by people from the former French colonies in Africa.
Venice is one of the first cities documented by the young photographer. In 1968, the city is still far removed from today's overtourism. Venice still largely belongs to the locals. They live and work here. Tourists are still in the minority.
Zadar is sprucing itself up for foreign guests. Werner Gadliger documents the tourist side of the city with the Sea Organ and takes a look behind the scene
The city of Zurich, Werner Gadliger’s adopted home, constantly offers new subjects. The photographer never tires of rediscovering his city. Many places seem to him as if he were seeing them for the first time.
On the road in Andalusia, the photographer finds impressive images both on and off the beaten track. The landscapes fascinate him just as much as the people and animals he encounters.
Small is beautiful. The photographer loves the agile Fiat 500. Wherever the little car appears, Werner Gadliger pulls out his camera.
Werner Gadliger observes animals just as attentively and amusedly as he does people. The interaction between animals and humans seems to particularly captivate him.
From the year two thousand, Werner Gadliger took part in over twenty solo exhibitions and just as many group exhibitions. Before that, his work was shown in sixty-five solo and forty-nine group exhibitions.
Gadliger at the Auer Ory Photo Foundation
In fall 2024, the renowned Fondation Auer Ory pour la photographie in Hermance near Geneva is dedicating a solo exhibition to the photographer, September 5 to October 30, 2024.
Report on arttv.ch – culture tv on the net
Invitation card and book accompanying the exhibition:
Werner Gadliger - Carnet n°39
Collection Fondation Auer Ory pour la Photographie
64 pages / 61 b/w and color photographs
Price: 24 CHF
Texts by Alexandre Fiette and Michèle Auer Ory
