FRANKFURT.- For photographer Götz Diergarten, glass isn't just a transparent material; it's a lens through which reality can be transformed into abstract art. His fascination with glass began during a project with Wilhelm Opatz and the Deutscher Werkbund, where he was tasked with photographing Frankfurt's church architecture. It was during this assignment that Diergarten discovered the diverse aesthetic possibilities of glass—from ribbed and ornamental to wired glass and even simple glass blocks. He became captivated by its ability to refract light and create abstract interpretations of the world.
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This initial spark led Diergarten to explore similar structural elements in other urban settings, particularly the "New Frankfurt" housing estates built in the 1920s under the direction of Ernst May. These modernist buildings, with their extensive use of glass, provided a rich source of inspiration.
The resulting photographs occupy a fascinating space between the concrete and the abstract. Depending on the viewer's perspective, the light, and the background, familiar motifs—streets, trees, architectural details—can either come into focus or dissolve into amorphous areas of color. This interplay creates a dynamic visual experience, placing everyday scenes in entirely new contexts.
Diergarten’s “window images,” as he calls them, often evoke digital effects like grids, pixels, and distortions. This creates a compelling dialogue between the modern visual language of digital media and the more traditional medium of photography. It's as if he's finding digital art within the physical world, capturing it on film.
Born in 1972, Götz Diergarten studied Fine Art/Artistic Photography at the Düsseldorf Art Academy under the renowned Professor Bernd Becher from 1993 to 1998, and also honed his skills at the Zurich University of the Arts. Since the publication of his first book, Ravenoville, in 2001, his distinctive “photo-images” have garnered international acclaim, exhibited in numerous museums, galleries, and major art fairs.
Diergarten is an active member of the German Society for Photography (DGPh) and the Werkbund Hessen. He also co-founded and chairs the international photographers' network Piece of Cake. Beyond his artistic practice, Diergarten has shared his expertise by teaching at various art colleges, lecturing at the shift school of photography, and even teaching in China.
Today, Götz Diergarten lives and works in Frankfurt am Main and Volxheim in Rheinhessen, continuing to explore the abstract potential of the everyday world through his unique photographic vision.
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