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Credit: Anna Kristina Bauer

Bio:

Mario Wezel (*1988 in Nürtingen) lives and works in Hannover, Germany. He employs imaging techniques such as digital and analog photography, digital and analog video material, as well as thermal imaging cameras as the foundation of his artistic process. His exhibition practice encompasses wall-sized, wallpapered photographs, high-quality framed fine art prints, multi-channel video projections, printed textiles and text fragments on various materials.
Drawing from his own biography, Wezel addresses social themes such as identity, coming of age, and family. At the core of Wezel’s practice lies a nuanced engagement with the quotidian. His work elevates the incidental and the overlooked, imbuing the everyday with poetic resonance and symbolic depth. Through a subtle interplay of melancholy and humor, Wezel reveals the extraordinary within the ordinary, tracing intimate connections between the personal and the political, the minor gesture and the larger narrative.
Since the birth of his first child in 2017, Wezel’s artistic focus has increasingly centered on themes of fatherhood, masculinity, and parental role models. His practice draws from personal experience, translating the intimate into a conceptual framework that renders it both accessible and affective. Whether through the photobook The End of Immortality (FOTOHOFedition, 2023) or immersive, spatially transformative exhibition formats, Wezel’s work invites viewers into a reflective encounter with the evolving roles of care, identity, and relational presence.
His work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions. Mario Wezel is a contributor to magazines such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, The New York Times, among others. He also leads workshops on documentary photography and teaches at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover.

Clients include:

National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Süddeutsche Zeitung, SZ Magazin, Der Spiegel, Greenpeace Magazin, Stern, Stern Crime, Brigitte, Information, Børsen, NEON, Nido, Die Zeit, Zeit Online, Chrismon, 11 Freunde, Capital, Manager Magazin, Wirtschaftswoche, Focus, Bilanz, Aufbau Verlag, Galiani, Penguin/ Randomhouse

Exhibition, Grants, Awards:

• 2024 „The End of Immortality“, International Photography and Media Art Festival, Kaunas, Litauen
  „Raumschiff Voyage“, Städtische Galerie KUBUS, Hannover
  
• 2023 Photobook, „Das Ende der Unsterblichkeit”, FOTOHOF Edition VG Bildkunst, Publication funding for „Das Ende der Unsterblichkeit”
  „Five Interstellar Nights”, YEAST Photofestival, Lecce, Italien
  „Concrete Roots“, Horizonte Zingst
  Showcase, „Das Ende der Unsterblichkeit”, Fotografiska Berlin
  "The End of Immortality", RADIUS, Hannover
• 2022 Gruppenausstellung,„Five Interstellar Nights”, Goethe EXIL, Hannover
• 2021 Solo Exhibition, “Das Ende der Unsterblichkeit”, Galerie BOHAI, Hannover, Germany
  Group Exhibition, “A domestic Kingdom on 86 Square Meter”, Goethe EXIL, Hannover, Germany
• 2019 Solo Exhibition, “Wanderjahre”, KWS Art Lounge, Einbeck
  Solo Exhibition, “Do you sometimes dream of America” Nürtingen, Germany
• 2017 Finalist, Burn Magazine EPF, “Do you sometimes dream of America”
  Group Exhibition, “Do you sometimes dream of America”, Copenhagen Photofestival
  “Do you sometimes dream of America”, Museum Hilversum
• 2016 Production Grant, VG Bildkunst, Germany
  Group Exhibition, „Do you sometimes dream of America“, GAF Hannover
  Solo Exhibition, „Concrete Roots“, Licher, Germany
  Winner, Pressphoto of the Year, Once Only, Bremen
  Group Exhibition, “Once Only”, Bremen
• 2015 Group Exhibition, Concrete Roots, Visa OFF, Perpignan
  Group Exhibition, Concrete Roots, Lumix Festival, Hannover
  Solo Exhibition, Concrete Roots, VGH Gallery, Hannover
  Winner, VGH Fotopreis, Hannover
• 2014 Winner, College Photographer of the Year, Missouri, USA Magnum Photos, 30 under 30
  Group exhibition, “1 in 800”, Visa OFF, Perpignan Commended Award, Ian Parry Scholarship
  Group exhibition, “Sin Began with Marlene”, Brixen, Italy
  Winner, people- professional, “1in800”, Sony World Photography Awards
  Group exhibition, Sommerset House, “1in800”, London, UK
  Group exhibition, “Sin Began with Marlene” , Mals, Italy
  Group Exhibition, Lumix Festival, “1in 800” Hannover, Germany
  Group exhibition, 1 in 800 Brisbane, Australia
  Winner, Documentary Category, “1in800”, Photofest Mexico
  Finalist, FotoVisura Spotlight Grant, “1 in 800”
  Winner, Canon Profitoto Foerderpreis, “1 in 800”
• 2013 commended project, Sin began with Marlene, Organ Vida Photofestival
• 2012 finalist Ian Parry Scholarship, Group Exhibition at Mother Gallery London
• 2011 Pressefoto des Jahres, DJV Bremen, Category: „Business“ and „Everyday Life“