Born in 1941 in Büren an der Aare, Switzerland. Died in 2020.

Raetz obtained a teacher’s education and taught primary school until 1963, when he embarked on an artist’s career with stays in Bern, Amsterdam, Carona (Ticino) and Berlin. Since the 1960s, Raetz has created numerous works, including more than 30,000 drawings. His work focused on drawings and paintings in the 1960s and 1970s, and continued with sculptures in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with the sculpture Der Kopf in the Merian Park in Basel (1984). The principal topic of his work is the nature of perception. His works do not focus on what they portray, but on how they are perceived. They often require interaction by the viewer, and can be understood only when viewed in motion or from different angles.

Raetz’s works are represented in international collections such as Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Schaulager, Basel, Switzerland; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany; Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland.