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Grisebach

Every Collection Tells a Story

Photographer Wolfgang Stahr has spent many years visiting people who live surrounded by art.

Wolfgang Stahr’s photographs of collector’s homes allow us to glimpse the private quarters of people who passionately collect art and share their living spaces and in fact their whole lives with it. These rooms normally are hidden from public view – and each photograph tells of the bond between collectors and their art, of the pride of place it occupies in their lives. Often, it is not just the paintings and sculptures themselves, but the way they are arranged and placed in context that reflects the true nature of the collector's home and lifestyle.

Besides the works of art, though, Stahr also portrays the people who live with them. By inviting us to “take a look through the keyhole,” he ushers us into the collectors’ private world, providing us with unique access to exceptional spaces. In this way, Stahr captures how the collectors express their attitude to art and to life itself. Which is the decisive gesture, after all, since a collection has meaning for its collector first and foremost. Thus, a collection always tells its very own story, one that the visitor, the viewer, is given the opportunity to decipher.

Wolfgang Stahr grew up in Munich and studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld. He has lived and worked in Berlin for over two decades. His photographic focus is on portraits, interiors, and the relationship between people and places. His photographs appear regularly in international magazines such as AD Architectural Digest, Art, BLAU, DIE ZEIT, Harper's Bazaar, Monopol, New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Weltkunst. His artistic work has been exhibited in galleries and institutions and has received prizes such as the Grand Prix Européen de la ville de Vevey.

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The editorial offices of the art magazine BLAU in Berlin (housed in the former apartment of publisher Axel Springer).

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The “Red Salon” in the townhouse of art dealer and collector Michael Neff in Frankfurt am Main.

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The house of Rudolf Zwirner, perhaps the 20th century’s most important and visionary gallerist.

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The living room of the Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur Brunello Cucinelli in Solomeo, Umbria.

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A view of the Frankfurt apartment of the art-collecting couple Johanna and Friedrich Gräfling.

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The bedroom of a gallery owner in Berlin.

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Flat of Bettina Böhm, founder of LEAP Art Foundation and art manager.

From March 1st until April 5th, 2025, the Peter Sillem Gallery in Frankfurt am Main will host “Sentiment Index,” a solo exhibition by Wolfgang Stahr. After moving from Berlin to Frankfurt at the start of the Corona pandemic, Stahr took long walks to explore the city as a newcomer. The photographs he took show a deserted city whose supposedly familiar street scenes, urban spaces, and architecture reveal themselves in a novel light.

For further information, please see: www.galerie-peter-sillem.com