»The Illumination of Things«

Nature photographs that bring memories of nature back to mind: The experimental photographs by artist and poet Ulrike Pichl are not dedicated to the depiction of nature itself, but rather to the atmosphere of the natural environment and its effect on people. Before taking the photographs, which are created during the artist’s walks, Pichl manipulates the camera lens with grease or liquids. In this way, she creates a vague and hazy synthesis of forms and light that evokes associations in viewers. Drawing on the sfumato painting technique, Pichl refers to her works as »sfumatographs«. It is noteworthy that many of the diverse motifs originate from a very small environment, thereby highlighting the constant transformation of nature across her body of work. Each of the artist’s photographs is a signed, one-of-a-kind piece and is thematically expanded upon by a handwritten poem. In her first solo exhibition, The Illumination of Things, Pichl presents 24 works accompanied by the corresponding poems. The exhibition opens on April 23 at 5 p.m. at the Nuremberg Criminal Justice Center in the presence of the artist and runs through September 11.

In her current exhibition, the Nuremberg-born artist is also presenting new works for the first time that are backlit and project the light into the room. For her previous work, Ulrike Pichl has been nominated three times for the Fine Art Photography Awards 2025 and, a year later, received a bronze award in the Nature category at the 2026 ceremony.

Nuremberg Criminal Justice Center
Fürther Straße 114, 90429 Nuremberg
Opening hours:
Mon–Thu 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fri 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.