Ursula Schulz-Dornburg is a German conceptual photographer and artist based in Düsseldorf. Born in Berlin in 1938, she began her photographic practice as a teenager using large-format glass-plate cameras. Her work is characterized by a minimalist aesthetic that combines documentary and conceptual approaches, often focusing on historical architecture, environmental issues, and the human condition. She is well known for her serial typologies of buildings and landscapes in Europe, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Schulz-Dornburg's practice involves extensive research into her subjects, which she presents through meticulously composed black-and-white photographs. Her work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Tate Modern, the British Museum, and the Städel Museum. In 2025, she was awarded the Bernd and Hilla Becher Award.[1,2,3]
Architekturen des Wartens: Fotografien; Bushaltestellen in Armenien, Bahnhöfe der Hejaz-Bahn in Saudi-Arabien2004 · Galerie Aedes West · book · GermanISBN 978-3-937093-37-6First edition.
Architekturen des Wartens: Fotografien; Bushaltestellen in Armenien, Bahnhöfe der Hejaz-Bahn in Saudi-Arabien2007 · Verlag der Buchhandlung Walter König · book · English, GermanISBN 3865602762Second, expanded edition.
Sonnenstand: Acht Kalenderbauten auf dem Weg nach Santiago de Compostela1993 · DuMont · book · GermanISBN 978-3-7701-3195-2
Ewiger Weizen1995 · Vater und Sohn Eiselen-Stiftung · book · GermanISBN 978-3-926186-06-5
The Land In Between: Photographs from 1980 to 20122018 · Mack · book · EnglishISBN 978-1-912339-10-5
Yerevan 1996/19972019 · Mack · book · EnglishISBN 978-1-912339-49-5
Exhibitions
2002Across the territoriesInstitut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), Valenciasolo
2018The Land In-between: Photographs from 1980 to 2012Städel Museum, Frankfurtsolo
2019Zone Grise/The Land in BetweenMaison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Parissolo
2023MemoryscapesLarge Glass, Londonsolo
Awards
2016AIMIA AGO Photography PrizeArt Gallery of Ontario
2018Photography Catalogue of the Year awardParis Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards
2024Kunstpreis des Landes Nordrhein-WestfalenState of North Rhine-Westphalia
2025Bernd and Hilla Becher AwardKunsthalle Düsseldorf
