FRANKFURT.- Marking what would have been his 100th birthday on May 29, 2025, the Kunststiftung DZ BANK is presenting an exclusive exhibition celebrating the work of Swiss photographer Arnold Odermatt. The showcase draws from the foundation's extensive collection, offering a focused look at the artist's unique perspective honed over decades as a police officer and quiet observer.


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Arnold Odermatt (1925-2021) embarked on his police career in the serene canton of Nidwalden in 1948. Alongside his official duties, he became an unintentional chronicler of his world, using a Rolleiflex camera. His film rolls often contained a mix of the mundane and the dramatic: snapshots of family life, holidays, colleagues at work and leisure, alongside stark documentation of traffic accidents. He would photograph crash sites for official reports, but often returned later, after the scene was cleared, to capture what he called "belly photos" – sharply focused, well-lit images for his personal archive, seeking an almost formal quality in the wreckage.

Odermatt's significant body of work remained largely private until his son, film director Urs Odermatt, discovered the depth and quality of his father's photographs while researching a film project. This led to the 1993 book "Meine Welt" (My World), which introduced the art world to the police officer's compelling visual diary.

The initial critical recognition came with a 1998 exhibition curated by Beate Kemfert at the SCHIRN Kunsthalle in Frankfurt. This show caught the eye of renowned curator Harald Szeemann, who included a selection of Odermatt's black and white photographs in the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001, cementing his place on the international art stage. The DZ BANK collection acquired key series from the Frankfurt exhibition, including the now-famous "Karambolage" (Pile-up) and "Im Dienst" (On Duty) works.

The current exhibition at the Kunststiftung's Cabinet space augments the collection with a set of six images from the "Rücklichter" (Tail Lights) series. These photographs originated from a house fire incident in Hergiswil, where Odermatt noticed the surreal effect of the heat melting the plastic tail lights of parked cars. He returned the following day in civilian clothes to document these unintended transformations in daylight. The resulting images present the damaged tail lights as unexpectedly painterly and organically sculptural forms.

Arnold Odermatt, whose career spanned decades behind the lens and the badge in his Swiss homeland, passed away in 2021. The exhibition at the Kunststiftung DZ BANK serves as a tribute to his distinctive gaze and lasting impact on photography.


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