WALTER PFEIFFER

Walter Pfeiffer is a Swiss photographer whose light-hearted portraits, playful still lifes and witty fashion editorials have inspired a generation of artists and given rise to a devoted following. Pfeiffer, who is based in Zürich, was trained as an illustrator and initially worked as a graphic artist, accepting private and commercial commissions for nearly twenty years. Although his early photographs were made as inspiration for his drawings, they demonstrated his skill for capturing beauty on film. He has continued making photographs for more than fifty years. Pfeiffer’s 2001 monograph, Welcome Aboard: Photographs 1980-2000, reinforced his status as a pioneer of the snapshot aesthetic. He has since collaborated with international magazines including i-D, Butt, Vogue Paris, Self Service and Fantastic Man.

Pfeiffer has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions. In 2008, Fotomuseum Winterthur presented In Love with Beauty, an unprecedented chronological overview of his work, spanning four decades from his beginnings in the early 1970s. An exhibition catalogue published by Steidl marked the occasion. His other monographs include Walter Pfeiffer: Bildrausch. Drawings 1966-2018 (2018), Walter Pfeiffer: Scrapbooks 1969-1985 (2012), Cherchez La Femme! (2007), Night and Day (2007), and Walter Pfeiffer: 1970 - 1980 (1980).