Urs Marty was born in Altdorf in 1942. After attending the foundation course at the then School of Art and Design in Lucerne, he completed an apprenticeship with a professional photographer. Marty died abruptly in 2003 of cancer. He has left behind a fascinating oeuvre of enduring iridescence and urgency. These photographs depict various strata of society and range from travel impressions and conceptually structured picture series, to his ubiquitous forays into red-light districts.

Marty is never the distanced voyeur, rather he is an accomplice, if not a confidant of his subjects, who he depicts in closeup without artifice, as disenchanted yet dignified figures. Marty captures people and situations with the same cool precision as one might depict architecture or landscape, while never ignoring the emotional tone of the moment.