EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

COMPASS POINTS, KURTZ GALLERY FOR PHOTOGRAPHY, MIT MUSEUM, 2013, CAMBRIDGE (USA)
DAVOS, GALLERY RATUS CASTY, 2011, DAVOS (CH)
PARIS PHOTO, GALERIE ESTHER WOERDEHOFF, 2011, PARIS (FR)
LOCAL STUDIES, RENENS, L’ELAC, 2009, LAUSANNE (CH)
LOCAL STUDIES, ARLES, VOIES OFF, 2009, ARLES (FR)
LOCAL STUDIES, SWISS FOUNDATION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY, 2009, WINTERTHUR (CH)
BIENNALE INTERNATIONALE DE PHOTOGRAPHIE, 2008, LIÈGE (BE)
NIGHT, MARKS BLOND, 2007, BERN (CH)
PARIS PHOTO, 2007, PARIS (FR)
ARCH SCAPES, BIENAL INTERNACIONAL DE ARQUITETURA, 2007, SÃO PAULO (BR)
JOURNÉES PHOTOGRAPHIQUES, 2007, BIENNE (CH)
FEDERAL ART GRANT, BASEL MESSE, 2007, BASEL (CH)
ART BASEL, 2007, BASEL (CH)
LUX, MUDAM, 2006, LUXEMBOURG (LU)
THE SELECTION, EWZ, 2006, ZURICH (CH)
IN THE ALPS, KUNSTHAUS ZÜRICH, 2006, ZURICH (CH)
STADTLAND SCHWEIZ, CENTRE CULTUREL SUISSE, 2005, PARIS (FR)
HOCH HINAUS, KUNSTMUSEUM THUN, 2005, THUN (CH)
SALINS, VILLA NOAILLES, 2004, HYÈRES (FR)
NEUES ZÜRICH, FORUM FÜR ARCHITEKTUR, 2004, ZURICH (CH)
FEDERAL DESIGN GRANT, MUDAC, 2003, LAUSANNE (CH)
SWISSPEAKS FESTIVAL, VAN ALEN INSTITUTE, 2003, NEW YORK (USA)

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

MUDAM, LUXEMBOURG (LU)
VILLA NOAILLES, HYÈRES (FR)
FONDS NATIONAL D’ART CONTEMPORAIN, PARIS (FR)
UBS, ZURICH (CH)
BCV, LAUSANNE (CH)
SWISS FOUNDATION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY, WINTERTHUR (CH)
JULIUS BAER, ZURICH (CH)
SWISS CONFEDERATION ART COLLECTION, BERN (CH)

ABOUT

JOËL TETTAMANTI IS A SWISS PHOTOGRAPHER BORN IN 1977 IN EFOK, CAMEROON. HIS PRACTICE UNFOLDS IN A CONTINUOUS STATE OF MOVEMENT BETWEEN SWITZERLAND, THE BASQUE COUNTRY, AND VARIOUS LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE, REFLECTING A WAY OF WORKING THAT IS NEVER FIXED BUT CONSTANTLY DISPLACED.

WORKING EXCLUSIVELY WITH LARGE-FORMAT ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHY, HE APPROACHES THE CAMERA AS A SLOW INSTRUMENT OF ATTENTION, WHERE TIME, SCALE AND PRECISION BECOME INSEPARABLE FROM THE ACT OF SEEING.

HIS WORK IS GROUNDED IN THE OBSERVATION OF BUILT ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR SILENT DIALOGUE WITH LANDSCAPE. ARCHITECTURE, IN HIS IMAGES, IS NEVER ISOLATED: IT IS READ AS A FRAGMENT OF TERRITORY, A TRACE OF INTENTION, A TENSION BETWEEN PERMANENCE AND EROSION. THROUGH CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED FRAMINGS, HE SUSPENDS THE IMMEDIATE READABILITY OF PLACES, ALLOWING STRUCTURES TO EMERGE AT THE EDGE OF ABSTRACTION, MEMORY, OR DISAPPEARANCE.

HE STUDIED GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY AT ECAL IN LAUSANNE (1997–2001), AN EDUCATION THAT CONTINUES TO INFORM THE RIGOUR AND CLARITY OF HIS VISUAL LANGUAGE. HE ALSO TAUGHT PHOTOGRAPHY AT ECAL BETWEEN 2009 AND 2019, WHERE HE DEVELOPED A PEDAGOGY ROOTED IN OBSERVATION, PATIENCE, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEANING THROUGH IMAGES.

ALONGSIDE HIS AUTONOMOUS PRACTICE, TETTAMANTI IS REGULARLY COMMISSIONED BY LEADING ARCHITECTS, INCLUDING HERZOG & DE MEURON AND VALENTIN DESCHENAUX, WITH WHOM HE DEVELOPS A PHOTOGRAPHIC LANGUAGE ATTENTIVE TO THE SPATIAL AND CONCEPTUAL DIMENSIONS OF ARCHITECTURE.

HIS WORK HAS BEEN EXHIBITED INTERNATIONALLY AND IS HELD IN MAJOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS IN SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, AND ABROAD.