BERLIN.- The Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus opens two photography exhibitions this week, bringing together a new generation of image-makers alongside the quietly intimate still lifes of American artist John Schuetz.
The BFF-Förderpreis 2025/26, on view from July 3 through September 27, 2026, presents work by twelve emerging photographers selected by a professional jury. This year’s theme, “Playing,” has been interpreted in a wide range of visual approaches, from colorful and expressive to restrained, emotional and contemplative.
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The participating photographers are Benedikt Burger, Eliakim Alejandro De Paoli Padilla, Marie Eberhardt, Theresa Maria Forthaus, Haben Ghebregziabher, Lara Habor, Antonia Jula Hack, Zerina Kaps, Neela J. Keane, Charly Krüger, Zoe Linneweber and Malte Oing.
Over a period of six months, the selected artists developed and produced their projects in close exchange with BFF mentors. The winner, E. Alejandro De Paoli Padilla, was awarded the prize at the end of May 2026. His project, According to the Dice / From an Inventory of 236, explores the role of guided chance in photography. Using a self-devised set of rules and a six-sided die as a decision-making tool, he allowed selection and distribution to shape the final staged still lifes.
Whether loud or quiet, playful or reflective, the works in the exhibition reveal the many ways in which the idea of “playing” can become a serious artistic strategy.
Opening the same evening is John Schuetz: Why The Hell Not, on view from July 3 through August 30, 2026. In this exhibition, Schuetz turns to the classic genre of still life, but with a personal and contemporary approach. All of the photographs were made inside his own apartment, which he transformed into an intimate studio.
Rather than relying on elaborate symbolism, Schuetz focuses on subtle light, delicate color and carefully composed arrangements. The limitations of his domestic surroundings become a source of invention, pushing the artist to find new perspectives within familiar space.
All of the works were made with a smartphone, a choice that emphasizes the immediacy and accessibility of photography today. At the same time, Schuetz resists the endless reproducibility of digital images by printing each motif only once, giving every photograph a singular physical presence.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1944, John Schuetz studied art history, theater studies, humanities and sculpture in the United States, Berlin and Strasbourg. He moved to Berlin in 1971 and began working with photography. His work has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 1988 Maerz exhibition BauHaus and The 20th Century — A Century of Art in Germany at the Neue Nationalgalerie and Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. His works are included in collections such as the Berlinische Galerie and the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein.
The exhibitions open on Thursday, July 2, with the BFF-Förderpreis 2025/26 opening at 7 p.m. and John Schuetz: Why The Hell Not opening at 8:30 p.m.
Both exhibitions take place at the Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus, Stresemannstr. 28, 10963 Berlin. The venue is open Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
