Greif Alumni: Q&A with Lukas Städler

Greif Alumnus Lukas Städler reflects on his photographic practice and current exhibition at Fotografiska Berlin

We periodically invite our alumni, artists we have featured in the past, to share their new work and projects with us. Lukas Städler was among the artists selected for Der Greif X Grisebach “New Positions” Online Photography Auction. His pursuit of contemporary aesthetics through photography finds expression in beautiful and strong images of love and life within the community of friends and family he feels he belongs to.

Städler is currently showing his latest project “Hain” at Fotografiska Berlin, in a solo exhibition exploring a hidden facet of Berlin: gay cruising, or the anonymous sexual encounters between gay men in the city's public spaces. The result of his research is a series of intimate images that also become a self-portrait of himself, at once agent and metaphorically subject of the photographic act.

Der Greif: How would you describe your own photographic practice?

My photographic practice is very personal and intimate, almost like a diary. It hasn't changed much since I first picked up a camera almost 20 years ago, when my best friend and I took portraits of each other in the woods. The subjects of my photographs are usually people I'm close to - family, friends, lovers and partners. This familiarity allows me to capture moments of genuine intimacy and connection that might otherwise remain hidden. Over the years I've come to realise that I'm also drawn to finding the same beauty and intimacy in landscapes, still life and the everyday things that surround me. I see my photography as an ongoing exploration of the world around me, navigating between the staged and the spontaneous, the public and the private, always trying to capture those intimate moments in between.

Der Greif: What was your first experience of making your photographs public, both online and in specific spaces?

I started through Instagram. This is probably a shared experience with many other photographers of my generation. Although my cameras and techniques have evolved over the years, the core of how I share my work online hasn't changed much since I started posting. Over the past three years I've had the pleasure of showing my work in a number of group exhibitions, which has been a great opportunity to experiment with different ways of printing and framing. A highlight was definitely being selected to participate in the Der Greif X Grisebahc Online Photography Auction in January this year. In addition, since earlier this year I've been represented by the Berlin gallery DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM, where I had the opportunity to present my first solo exhibition, “OUVERTÜRE”, in July. This experience has been the most exciting and overwhelming so far.

Der Greif: Which contemporary photographers inspire your work?

Of course there are many photographers I admire and who inspire me, but I would like to highlight my friends and people from my community who have been part of my journey. Larissa Hofmann is a very dear friend of mine who has such a delicate, sensual and unique way of capturing people and scenes. With every fashion editorial she publishes, I get more and more excited to see how she expresses her fantasies. Another photographer who is close to me and whose advice I often seek is my friend Florian Hetz. Although his approach to portraying men is very different from mine, there is so much beauty and tenderness in his work. When you look at his abstract nude close-ups, it's as if he's a sculptor rather than a photographer. Joseph Kadow has been at my side for almost a decade now; he shot my lookbook when I was a fashion student. Since then he has worked on many interesting projects, not only as a photographer. Seeing how he has expanded his vision over the years is both inspiring and makes me proud.

Der Greif: How have you worked in the space of Fotografiska? What are you presenting?

I'm presenting part of my series “Hain”, a project that I developed over two years as I visited Berlin's most popular gay cruising spots. The work captures naked bodies coming together in idyllic natural settings – places that at first confused me, but still intrigued me to capture them in a different way. I wanted to find the most romantic and intimate fantasies in these spaces, to make my subjects feel like nymphs emerging from the water. While documenting these moments and staging scenes with my friends, I realized that this series felt more like a self-portrait. The trust people placed in me, combined with the conversations we had, allowed me to explore different ways of loving and being free. Meeting older men in particular was fascinating as I learned from their stories and experiences. At Fotografiska Berlin, I was lucky enough to work with the great curators, namely Marie-Luise Mayer and Marina Paulenka. The selection we put together, displayed in a rather dark setting, creates a mystical and dreamy atmosphere. They've also given me the opportunity to work on a small installation for the display of the works, and it's been really exciting for me to see my work in different places and contexts over the course of the summer.