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12/12/2003

Balthasar Burkhard

The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh

FIRST EXHIBITION IN THE UK ­ MAJOR SOLO PRESENTATION

Balthasar Burkhard is a pioneer of the use of large-scale photography intended to be experienced in the gallery rather than on the page. The Fruitmarket Gallery presents the first exhibition in the UK of work by the Swiss photographer.

Consisting entirely of new work made between 2001 and 2003 in the forests, mountains and skies of the Engadin region of the Swiss Alps, the exhibition offers audiences the first opportunity to experience the startling vision of this internationally renowned artist. Photographs of breath-taking beauty, some three metres in length, bring the drama of the alpine landscape into the gallery.

Landscape is Burkhard's preferred theme, his interest in it developing over a 30 year career which has included studies of the human body, the topography of cities of four continents and the alien terrain of Namibian Desert and the Amazonian Jungle. He likes to explore his landscapes by helicopter, shooting vast images that disorientate and confound the viewer with a vision of the world in which there are few points of human reference.

The work presented by The Fruitmarket Gallery bears the hallmarks of the artist's practice: black and white, in thematic series and of a monumental scale. Key works feature in the series Mountains (Bernina), 2003. Burkhard has captured the region's often terrifying beauty in images taken either from vertiginous aerial and remote ground-level viewpoints. The result simultaneously brings the landscape into the gallery and propels the viewer back out into the landscape.

Born in 1944, Burkhard lives and works in Bern, Switzerland. Established internationally, he has has exhibited in multiple international solo and group exhibitions in both public and private galleries. He has mounted major solo exhibitions throughout Switzerland, during the Photography Triennial in Hamburg, and in Paris, Brussels and Milan. His work has featured in major group exhibitions including the Venice Biennale and Documenta and in Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Paris, Tokyo and Zurich.

In 2004, on the occasion of the artist¹s 60th birthday, the Kunstmuseum, Bern, will present a major retrospective of Burkard¹s work.

Balthasar Burkhard will be in Edinburgh from Wednesday 10­Saturday 13 Dec. He is available for advance telephone interviews from Friday 28 November.

Image: Balthasar Burkhard, Bernina, 2003

Exhibition Preview
Friday 12 December, 6.30-8.30pm
Supported by
Kronenbourg Premier Cru

Artist's Talk
Saturday 13 December, 4pm. Free
Balthasar Burkhard discusses his work

Opening hours
Mon­Sat 11am­6pm
Sun 12­5pm

Last entry 30 minutes
prior to closure
Admission free

Festive Period Opening hours
Open Wed 24 Dec 11am­3pm
Closed Thurs 25­Sat 27 Dec inclusive
Open Sun 28­Sun 4 Jan daily 12­5pm
Normal hours resume from
Mon 5 Jan

For Media Enquiries please contact:
Annie Woodman
Media and Marketing Manager
Tel 00 44 (0) 0131 226 8182
Fax 00 44 (0) 0131 220 3130

THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UK
45 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DF

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