Olten
Swiss Hollywood export visits opening at the Haus der Fotografie: “I love this place,” says Carlos Leal
The House of Photography in Olten is celebrating the opening of the Red Bull “Illume” exhibition. The Lausanne actor Carlos Leal also shows up spontaneously. Although he has lived in Los Angeles for years, Leal comes out as a fan of the Oltner Haus der Fotografie: “The exhibitions are always ‘amazing’.”
Carlos Leal visited the House of Photography in Olten: “It is so important that this place exists,” says the acting star about the House of Photography.
Image: Hanspeter Bärtschi
He also takes photographs himself, says Carlos Leal. The Swiss actor has just entered the foyer of the Haus der Fotografie in Olten. In the meantime, the man in his mid-fifties has stood next to one of the bar tables. The vernissage begins: “Red Bull Illume”, the exhibition for the Austrian beverage company’s competition for sports and action photography, will be held at the Haus der Fotografie in Olten from October 11th to November 24th. The foyer is packed.
Shared passion is double passion
The fact that Leal finds his way to Olten has nothing to do with his roles in “James Bond 007: Casino Royal” or in the US hit series “Better Call Saul”, but rather with his passion for photography. “Photography is an art form that makes it possible to tell a story within milliseconds,” says the Lausanne native who has lived in Los Angeles since 2010. Photographer Leal has also been able to present his pictures at exhibitions in Zurich, Paris and Los Angeles.
Actor Carlos Leal in conversation with Remo Buess, photographer and member of the management team at Haus der Fotografie Olten.
Image: Hanspeter Bärtschi
But what brings him to Olten that evening are the like-minded people that Leal found in the House of Photography. That was 2021: “I was at Photo Switzerland in 2021,” says Leal. That’s where he met Remo Buess, the Oltner photographer who has been part of the management team at Haus der Fotografie since its beginnings.
Head of the house Isabelle Bitterli and Carlos Leal at the vernissage evening for the exhibition “Red Bull Illume” in the Haus der Fotografie in Olten.
Image: Hanspeter Bärtschi
In 2021, the House of Photography opened its doors for the first time – with an exhibition by the US cult director David Lynch. Without further ado, Buess invited Leal to the exhibition. “We have always been in contact since then,” says Leal at the opening evening in Olten.
Leal is currently at the film festival in Zurich
Remo Buess, photographer and member of the management team at Haus der Fotografie in Olten
Bild: Bruno Kissling
Buess confirms: “Carlos got in touch and said he was currently in Zurich.” The film festival is taking place there these days, where Leal is presenting his new film “When we were sisters”. Buess told him about the vernissage at the Haus der Fotografie for the current exhibition “Red Bull Illume”. Leal didn’t want to miss this. “I just have to be back in Zurich by half past nine,” he says at the bar table in the foyer.
There is a simple reason why Leal squeezes the trip to Olten into his busy Zurich schedule: “I love this place,” says Leal from the Haus der Fotografie. Since the David Lynch exhibition, Leal has visited the Oltner Haus again and again. “The exhibitions are always amazing,” he enthuses. “It’s so important that this place exists.”
The photography industry also meets for business purposes in the House of Photography
But it wasn’t just the art of photography that attracted Leal to Olten on the opening evening. Leal reveals at the bar table that he is also meeting representatives from Fujifilm. The Japanese company is one of the most renowned manufacturers of photo cameras in the world.
Carlos Leal chats at the opening of the new exhibition “Red Bull Illume” in the Haus der Fotografie Olten: Both the actor and the Oltner Haus are interested in a future collaboration.
Image: Hanspeter Bärtschi
There also seems to be a collaboration between the House of Photography and Carlos Leal. In any case, both Buess and Leal were interested.
