Franz Walderdorff is an artist who uses photography. His artworks suggest watercolor — more like products of pigment and wash rather than any chemical process. His work is hauntingly beautiful; large in scale, abstracted visions of our natural world and the everyday. His newest work is an ongoing series of portraits which are a mix of photography and painting although the painting is done electronically. It’s an unintentional Warhol homage, but with a modern take. For many years he was a beauty photographer, working at the topmost levels, so these new images might seem like a departure, but in truth there are strong ties from that world to this.
When at home in Southampton, German-born Walderdorff likes to spend time at the beach even in the winter months. It was here that his most recent projects, “Connections”, “Bathers”, and “Shared Horizons” were created. These series of photographs reflect the playful, ever-shifting movement of sand, water and sky and stays true to his love for the human form.
The abstract, contemplative images, at first viewing, make us wonder what we are looking at, at what scale and in what location.
Franz Walderdorff’s primary subject is beauty; he was on contract with Allure magazine from the day it launched and for the next 20 years, regularly contributing beauty pictures with the energy of a film-maker and the technical precision of a portraitist in an approach that precisely echoed the magazine’s ethos. That easy going feel, combined with visual high definition, is also what Walderdorff brings to his other work, whether in fashion or portraiture. Every element—from the choice of lighting, location and model through his comfortable, respectful rapport with his subjects, to the loyal team of experts he prefers to work with—contributes to this way of seeing. It’s a truism that ultimately photographers only shoot their own personalities, but that is certainly the case with Walderdorff.
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