Jonas Grauel

Jonas lives in Düsseldorf, Germany. His professional background is in Sociology and he works as a project manager in a consumer rights organization. Besides his main job he works as a freelance photographer specialised on street and people photography.

He has published pictures in several (online) magazines such as Digital Photo, Street Photographers Foundation or Soul of Street.

He is a founding member of the Düsseldorf Street Photography Collective frame.d.

Some of his pictures have been awarded at international Street Photography Contests.

Artist Statement

Jonas’ work can be on the one hand characterised as very playful. His aim is to show a world full of surprises where everything seems possible, almost like in a cartoon. The real world often appears in an unexpected, unique and surreal look – this can best be seen in his ‘Coincidence’-Series, but also in the ‘Candid Candy’-Series and the Portraits of ‘People are Pretty’. On the other hand, Jonas is also an observer of society, of humans, their relations and their objects – and thus some of his work has a more analytical and reflexive approach – as can be seen in his series ‘Order’ or ‘Relations’.

Publications

Street Photography Mixtape. Self-published Book by 40 Photographers from Cologne and surroundings. 1 Photo, S.118, May 2025.

“In der Streetfotografie gibt es zwei Strategien: Das Jagen und das Angeln. Ich bin eher ein Jäger – Jonas Grauel im Interview.” Interview (in German) and series of 7 Photos. Digital photo, Print Issue and Online article, July 2024.

Cologne Street Culture. Das Kölner Street Photography Zine. 4 Photos, November 2022.

“Kiev, Lviv, Odessa – Der letzte Sommer vor dem Krieg in der Ukraine” – Article and series of 13 Photos. Soul of Street #40 (print) and Online-Blog (not available anymore), April 2022.

“Little Wonders only the Open Eye can see” – Collection of 20 Photos. Street Photographers Foundation (Online Magazine), February 2022.

Artist Exposé – Collection of 10 Photos. Edge of Humanity Online Magazine, July 2021.

“Die Poesie der Puppen” – Article and series of 8 photos. Soul of Street #30 (print) and Online-Blog (not availably anymore), April 2020.

“A World full of Surprises” – Collection of 12 Photos. EYESHOT – Street Photography Online Magazine, July 2020. (Not available anymore)

“The Mystery of Mannequins” – Article & series of 8 photos. Street Photography Magazine, July 2020.

World Street Photography 6. The Finest Photos in International Street Photography. Gudberg Nerger, 2019. 1 Photo, p.50.

Exhibitions

28.8. - 3.9.2023: Neverland am Rhein - Düsseldorf re-frame.d
Group Exhibition by the frame.D Collective, ParkKultur, Düsseldorf.

In the exhibition “Neverland on the Rhine – Düsseldorf reframe.D”, the street photography collective frame.D tells a unique story about the city – beyond all clichés. The images capture authentic snapshots of vibrant life between the Rhine promenade, the Old Town, and Königsallee, highlighting the absurdity of everyday life, the colorfulness of the mundane, and the magic of the moment. The exhibition combined a collective wall featuring thematically and visually curated images from the group with individual contributions from its members.

frame.D – Neverland. 11 Fotos.

Jonas’ Contribution

12. - 14.5. 2023: Street Photography Mixtape.
Group Exhibition, Atelierzentrum Ehrenfeld, Köln.

As part of Photoszene Cologne 2023, 16 photographers from Cologne and the surrounding area presented their individual perspectives on the street — their very own sound. Each photo was like a track of its own, telling its own unique story.
More information about the exhibition can be found here .

The exhibition at the Atelierzentrum Ehrenfeld

Jonas’ contribution

18. - 31.5. 2019: Street Photography from Düsseldorf.
Exhibition by Christian Stops and Jonas Grauel. Brause Kunst, Metzgerei Schnitzel Kunstverein e.V.

Visitors in the exhibition