I am a German-born photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Photography is my point of departure for understanding the world. I am drawn to moments of tenderness, everyday rituals, and acts of self-expression within an ever-shifting cultural landscape. Through my process, I seek to dissolve the boundaries between subject and observer, often becoming an active participant in the scene. In an increasingly divided world, my work searches for what unites rather than what separates us, placing humanity, pleasure and joy at the center while embracing idiosyncrasy and imperfection.
In a visual dance between raw honesty and painterly poetry, I work across photography, moving image, collage, and mixed media. I weave together black-and-white and color, digital and analog imagery. Writing, found materials, archival fragments, brushstrokes, and motion sequences become cinematic tapestries.
Alongside my artistic practice, I work as a creative director in fashion, advertising, and entertainment, where the dialogue between commissioned and personal work continues to shape my visual language.
My work has been featured in Items: Is Fashion Modern? at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and published in ZEIT, WELT, and other international publications. I have taught as a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. I am represented by White Label Project (Berlin) for select prints and am a member of Photolab NYC.
MISSION
about
Nine questions and illustrated answers.
Q: Tell me a bit about yourself, but first of all: what is your name?
A: Sure! My name is Dörte (Doerte) Fitschen-Rath. Aside from creative, I'm a runner and I have never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Q: How do you pronounce your name?
A: Think Goethe + Motörhead with a 'D'.
Q: What do you do?
A: My studio is multidisciplinary and I work as a photographer and creative director, analogue and digital.
Q: Where are you from?
A: Hamburg, Germany.
Q: What makes you smile?
A: Oscar and Eames!!!
Q: How do you unwind?
A: Running is my meditation.
Q: How did it all begin?
A: I fell in love with photography when I was a kid. The first time, I saw a print come to life in the darkroom, I was hooked. And the rest is history…
Q: What inspires you?
A: What I see inspires what I do and vice versa.
Q: What do you dream about?
A: Equality, peace and a protected environment. No big deal.