THÉO DE GUELTZL
PHOTOGRAPHER + ARTIST
Théo de Gueltzl
Théo de Gueltzl, born in 1993, is a French artist practicing photography, drawing and sculpture, and whose work explores the different links between the body and space. He lives and works between Arles and Paris.
After obtaining a BA-Fine Art, specializing in Sculpture at the Central Saint Martins School in London in 2014, he traveled for three years on the American continent. Starting from Los Angeles in California, he crossed Mexico and Central America, finally settling in Bogota, where he founded a community artist studio in La Calera (a northern suburb of the city located at an altitude of 3,000 meters) from March 2016 to April 2018.
This experience made him aware of the many issues facing Colombia, and in particular the threats to native communities and their forced internal displacement within the country. He then conducted in-depth research on the diversity of their lifestyles, their connections to the environment, the challenges encountered and their ability to adapt to change. Since then, he has been carrying out long-term hybrid photographic and cinematographic work, which poetically documents the phenomena of syncretism and acculturation of the native peoples of this region of the world.
Sculptural forms in the natural world are an infinite source of inspiration in Théo de Gueltzl’s practice. His imagery is embodied in a dreamlike aesthetic of portraiture and landscape, while his empathetic and collaborative approach with his subjects celebrates cultural diversity. Since 2020, he has been developing personal and commissioned photographic work in the world of fashion. His series are regularly published in the specialist press (M Le magazine du Monde, AnOther, Atmos, Vogue, etc.).
Théo de Gueltzl, born in 1993, is a French artist practicing photography, drawing and sculpture, and whose work explores the different links between the body and space. He lives and works between Arles and Paris.
After obtaining a BA-Fine Art, specializing in Sculpture at the Central Saint Martins School in London in 2014, he traveled for three years on the American continent. Starting from Los Angeles in California, he crossed Mexico and Central America, finally settling in Bogota, where he founded a community artist studio in La Calera (a northern suburb of the city located at an altitude of 3,000 meters) from March 2016 to April 2018.
This experience made him aware of the many issues facing Colombia, and in particular the threats to native communities and their forced internal displacement within the country. He then conducted in-depth research on the diversity of their lifestyles, their connections to the environment, the challenges encountered and their ability to adapt to change. Since then, he has been carrying out long-term hybrid photographic and cinematographic work, which poetically documents the phenomena of syncretism and acculturation of the native peoples of this region of the world.
Sculptural forms in the natural world are an infinite source of inspiration in Théo de Gueltzl’s practice. His imagery is embodied in a dreamlike aesthetic of portraiture and landscape, while his empathetic and collaborative approach with his subjects celebrates cultural diversity. Since 2020, he has been developing personal and commissioned photographic work in the world of fashion. His series are regularly published in the specialist press (M Le magazine du Monde, AnOther, Atmos, Vogue, etc.).
“I see photography as an intuitive and direct way to express myself. It is first a passion, a language, something part of my quotidien life. Photographs allow me to tell a story without words, to express my emotions without explanation, to create a second layer of reality.”
“The images are simple yet poetic, drawing on the inherent power of natural landscapes to encourage thought, reflection and, hopefully, action.”
HERMÈS SCARF DESIGNS
Hermès
Soon after his graduation from Central Saint Martins, de Gueltzl began to forge a long-term partnership with luxury brand Hermès on detailed drawings for their textiles in a collaboration that would open a door not just to the world of fine art drawing, but to fashion as well. Each design requires 200 hours of drawing and etching, from concept to final product, and can take up to two years to produce.
De Gueltzl’s designs have included the Hermès Faubourg Tropical Scarf (with Octave Marsal), featuring an exuberant tropical forest that appears to unfurl from the neoclassical façade of the first Hermès store at 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, and the Robe Legere Embroidered Scarf, a limited piece made from the finest silk and hand embroidered with glass micro-beads.
PERSONAL DRAWINGS
SCULPTURE
Construct
‘Construct’ is a series of photographs and the only documentation of four sculptures built and destroyed on the same day. Put together by a collective of creatives from the fashion industry, ‘Construct’ aims to raise awareness on the urgent need to shift from our linear system to a circular economic model. This artistic project is a collaboration between de Gueltzl, set designer Heath Mattioli, the LA-based production team Fox&Leopard and ERE’s creative team.
At the very essence of this project, the ephemeral life and gigantic scale of these constructions reflects the proportion of waste humankind is producing every single day. Each of these sculptures reaches up to 6 meters and they are made of what is considered as waste, from materials that arrived on that very day in a recycling facility in Los Angeles. After being photographed in the back alley of the facility, the sculptures were dismantled and the materials made again to find a new purpose.
"Against a backdrop of greed and environmental destruction, Théo seeks to show the viewer the urgent need for preservation, the crucial task that lies ahead of us."
TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY
Travel Documentary
De Gueltzl’s passion for natural landscapes and the communities who inhabit them, which is so evident in his portfolio, extends beyond aesthetic considerations. His images of dense jungles, small rivers, rocky coastlines, and vast canyons are more than just sights for sore eyes, they are tributes to the importance of earth’s many different ecosystems. Against a backdrop of greed and environmental destruction, de Gueltzl seeks to show the viewer the urgent need for preservation, the crucial task that lies ahead of us.
‘Fine Lines,’ a recent project for Atmos, an online platform and magazine dedicated to bridging the gap between climate and culture, saw de Gueltzl photograph horizons from the Swiss Alps to the Mediterranean Sea. In the images, we witness the true diversity of the natural world, from harsh and wintery mountainscapes, to fast-flowing rivers, to soft and inviting shorelines, as de Gueltzl traces the journey to the ocean. These photos are accompanied by a poem he co-wrote with Ralph Cox that speaks of the ‘thin places’ where we find ourselves between landscapes and ‘between two worlds.’ In this project, as in many of his other projects, de Gueltzl shows us the potential of using photography to preserve nature and culture.
“I try through my photographs to capture the holistic side of the natural world and hope that it will help people to look at the landscape as something rich when it's alive, and not as something to harvest or use for short-term benefit.”
“I am drawn to a particular kind of people and places. Cultures that go unnoticed. People who one could call outsiders.”
“Théo shows us the potential of using photography to preserve nature and culture.”
“In a time where we are all looking at the world through the same filtered window, and living on a planet that is always growing and changing, I like the idea that photographs can act as proof, carrying information about how people lived in a certain place at a certain time.”
“I think I have been very much driven towards telling the stories of communities from other parts of the world in the hope of helping to preserve the diversity of culture.”
“Empathy plays a big role in my approach to a subject matter. I stay connected with a place and its people, believing and following my intuition, to then create both a personal and universal response that aims to raise awareness on important issues.”
THÉO DE GUELTZL
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