Background
David Hartwell is a Pasadena-based photographer. A British citizen, he was born and raised in French speaking Switzerland. David was formally trained as a photographer taking workshops given by such luminaries as Guy Le Querrec, Luc Chessex and Raymond Depardon before obtaining his BFA in 1991 from Art Center College of Design (Europe). He emigrated to the United States in 1991 where he cut his teeth working for pioneers of the burgeoning multimedia industry. He spent the next twenty-five years developing technical and historical content for the likes of IBM, Disney, Microsoft, History Channel, Discovery, and PBS. In his art, he uses technology and the technical skills he acquired in the commercial field to blur the lines between the world described by science, the world as it appears to us, and the world as we would like it to be. His photographs are constructions both in their making and figuratively. They challenge the audience to reevaluate their appreciation about how craft differs from art, if at all. His photography and artwork have shown at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, Wende Museum, WUHO Gallery, Neutra VDL Studio and Residences, Louis Poulsen Los Angeles, Palm Springs Art Museum.
In 2019, David and fellow artist Bill Ferehawk were commissioned a series of large botanical portraits by the Cayman National Gallery. Bringing their portable studio to the mangrove, they captured the native and endemic plants of the archipelago in their most intimate settings. Homegrown was on display at the museum in George Town, 21 Jan – 12 Apr 2021. The series was acquired by the Museum as part of their National Collection. David’s plant photography was also shown at the National Museum of China during the 5th International Art and Science Symposium and Exhibition (TASIES 2019) organized by Tsinghua University, Beijing.
David and his wife Sarah managed the Richard Neutra VDL Studio and Residences historical building in Los Angeles from 2007 to 2020. Their restoration work on the building and gardens was recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior, naming the house a National Landmark in 2017.
Education
1986-1987 Centre d’Enseignement Photographique Professionel, Switzerland
1988-1991 BFA Art Center College of Design (Europe), Switzerland
Selected Art Projects
Circle of Confusion (2023) – Botanical Portraits
October 14th – November 17th, 2023
Helms Design Center, Culver City
Solo Show
Press Release
A Powerful Change (2023) – Photography
Milano Green Forum Museum
In Collaboration with Association Compàz
Press Release
Terra Botanica (2021) – Depictions of Nature from The National Collection
Cayman National Gallery, George Town, Cayman Islands
Artists: David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk
Museum Press Release
Homegrown (2021) – Photography
(commissioned 2019, on display 2021)
Cayman National Gallery, George Town, Cayman Islands
Artists: David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk
Museum Press Release
Watt is Art (2021) – Photography
EPFL Pavillions, Lausanne, Switzerland
Artists: David Hartwell, Association Compàz
EPFL Pavillions Press Release
Watt is Art (2020) – Photography
Espace Shilling, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Artists: David Hartwell, Association Compàz
Photo-synthesis (2019) – Photography
5th Art and Science International Exhibition and Symposium
National Museum of China and 798 Arts District, Beijing
Artists: David Hartwell, Association Compàz
SwissNex Press Release
Go West, Young Man (2019) – Landscape Photography
Louis Poulsen showroom and gallery, Los Angeles
Artist: David Hartwell
Vessel of Change (2017) – Video Installation
The Wende Museum at The Armory, Culver City, California
Artists: David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk
Easy Reader News Article
Median (2016) – Video Installation
WUHO Gallery, Los Angeles
Artists: David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk
Archinect Article
Competing Utopias (2014) – Installation
Neutra VDL Studio and Residences, Los Angeles
Curators: David Hartwell, Bill Ferehawk, Justin Jampol, Sarah Lorenzen, and Patrick Mansfield
KCRW Article
Somewhere There Hides a Well (2011) – Video Installation
The Architecture of Donald Wexler
Palm Springs Art Museum, California
Artists: David Hartwell and Sarah Lorenzen
Archinect Article