Zürich, Switzerland

Nieves is an independent, one-man publishing house based in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 2001, by Benjamin Sommerhalder, an artist with a background in graphic design, Nieves’ focus is on publishing artists’ books and zines. Sommerhalder particularly resonates with the affordability of zines, and the potential to feature a vast number of artists without worrying about cost and print quality – the hand-made quality and reasonable pricing of a zine makes it easier for people to exchange their creativity. Initially mainly interested in the graphic quality of the material, Nieves output has developed to be increasingly concerned with artistic matters, moving on to thicker printed matter. The work is heavily influenced by foreign culture, in particular Japan, as well as everyday elements of life, creating publications with a wide international reach.