The Collection spans unique works and strictly numbered editions, drawn from two distinct sources : a private archive of historical photographic glass plates, and contemporary works produced or presented in collaboration with living artists.
Kurt Haefeli photographs rocks and ice on the coastlines and glacial plains of the North Atlantic — Iceland, and the coastal regions of Northumberland, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, and the Isle of Skye. His subjects have been shaped over geological time and continue to move, however slowly, under tide and surf. His process involves preparation, observation, and patience: tides, light, and surf conditions change in overlapping rhythms, and the right moment may require long waiting followed by quick action. Long exposures are central to his practice — the water that surrounds a rock becomes a record of duration, not of an instant.
His four-subject series for blackprint edition is printed on Arches Velin BFK Rives — a paper whose warm white and fine surface hold the full range of grey tones without forcing contrast. The choice aligns with Haefeli’s reference point: the subtle gradations of Asian ink painting, where the relationship between dark and light is a matter of balance, not drama.
