Julian adjusted his camera bag on his shoulder, wincing as his boots crunched over broken glass. He had heard the rumors about the Sonnenfreunde gallery for years. In the heyday of the 1970s, it had been a sanctuary—a sun-drenched, brutalist cube of concrete and glass nestled in the hills above the city, dedicated to the art of naturism and the worship of light. Now, it was a skeleton, slated for demolition next month.
The physical opened its doors in a converted solar power plant on the outskirts of Freiburg, Germany. The location is symbolic: the building is off-grid, powered entirely by photovoltaic cells. From the beginning, the gallery was not just a place to see art, but a place to feel the environment. sonnenfreunde gallery