Featured Artist  May 2017

Marie-Luise Klotz

Marie-Luise Klotz is a German photographer who specializes in combining fine art and environmental photography. Her foremost project Goldwert: The Collapse of an Indicator Species is a narrative of the lives of honeybees and the environmental impact of large-scale bee die-offs. Her work has been exhibited at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, California, the Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, the Phoenix Art Museum, the 7th International Photo Triennial Esslingen, the New York Center for Photographic Art, and the Berkeley Art Center, among others. Marie-Luise is a recipient of the Paul Sack Building Award, an ArtSlant Showcase Winner and received the Juror's Selection of the New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC4PA).

Marie-Luise holds a degree in photo and communication design from the Lazi Akademie Esslingen, European School of Film & Design, in Germany, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. Marie-Luise lives and works in Oakland, California.

Artist Statement - Goldwert: The Collapse of an Indicator Species

This body of work contains several storylines, which thematically and geographically address various components involved, such as the economy, industry, tradition, mystery, and ecology of honey bees, as well as the specific roles bees play in the agricultural environment. The images include small-scale beekeepers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Montana, Almond pollination in the Central Valley of California, as well as metaphorical imagery of gold-coated bees and crops.

Most recently added to the series are images of a rooftop beekeeper in Berlin, Germany, who is part of a growing movement of urban beekeeping in cities around the world. She placed her hives on top of an old power plant in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood. The building, with its barely illuminated labyrinth-like structure, is also home to a nightclub housing some of Berlin’s everlasting dance parties. The beekeeper describes the roof as a desert: once you exit onto the expansive, black, flat roof it is as if you have left Berlin. 

Click here to visit the artist's website.