One of the most influential and important photographic artists of the 21st century, Roger Ballen’s photographs span over forty years. His strange and extreme works confront the viewer and challenge them to come with him on a journey into their own minds as he explores the deeper recesses of his own.
Roger Ballen was born in New York in 1950 but for over 30 years he has lived and worked in South Africa. His work as a geologist took him out into the countryside and led him to take up his camera and explore the hidden world of small South African towns. At first he explored the empty streets in the glare of the midday sun but, once he had made the step of knocking on people’s doors, he discovered a world inside these houses which was to have a profound e ect on his work. These interiors with their distinctive collections of objects and the occupants within these closed worlds took his unique vision on a path from social critique to the creation of metaphors for the inner mind.
In his artistic practice Ballen has increasingly been won over by the possibilities of integrating photography and drawing. He has expanded his repertoire and extended his visual language. By integrating drawing into his photographic and video works, the artist has not only made a lasting contribution to the field of art, but equally has made a powerful commentary about the human condition and its creative potential.
His contribution has not been limited to stills photography. Ballen has been the creator of a number of acclaimed and exhibited short films that dovetail with his photographic series’. The collaborative film I Fink You Freeky, created for the cult band Die Antwoord in 2012, has garnered over 85-million hits on YouTube.
Roger Ballen’s work is included in more then forty prestigious museum collections, among which Tate Britain, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne; and Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris, to name a few. Reflex Amsterdam exclusively represents Roger Ballen’s Polaroids worldwide.
Roger Ballen
Request about this work
2013
Hahnemuhle pigment print
91 x 91 cm
Edition of 5
2014
Hahnemuhle pigment print
91 x 91 cm
Edition of 5
2011
Hahnemuhle pigment print
61 x 61 cm
Edition of 7
2011
Hahnemuhle pigment print
61 x 61 cm
Edition of 7
2009
Archival pigment print
50 x 50 cm | 90 x 90 cm
40 x 40 cm
2005
Archival pigment print
80 x 80 cm
2007
Archival pigment print
40 x 40 cm
2003
Silver gelatin print
50 x 50 cm | 90 x 90 cm
2006
Archival pigment print
50 x 50 cm | 90 x 90 cm
2011
Archival pigment print
50 x 50 cm | 90 x 90 cm
2009
Archival pigment print
80 x 80 cm
2009
Archival pigment print
50 x 50 cm | 90 x 90 cm
2006
Archival pigment print
50 x 50 cm
2007
Archival pigment print
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2018
‘Hans Lemmen en Roger Ballen – Unleashed’, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands
‘Ballenesque – Roger Ballen: A Retrospective’, Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, US
2017
‘Ballenesque – A Retrospective’, Reflex Amsterdam, Netherlands
2016
Anzenberger Gallery, Handmade Show, Austria
Aura Gallery, China
Barbado Gallery, Lisboa, Portugal
Carpentier Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Central Academy of Fine Art Museum, Beijing
Centro Fotografico Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Mexico
City Gallery Palffy Palais, Bratislava, Slovakia
Etherton Gallery, Tucson, United States
Fototeca, Monterrey, Mexico
Foto Museo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City
Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
Gallery Momo, Cape Town
Gallery Momo, Johannesburg
Hamilton Gallery, London, UK
Hydra and Fotografia, Mexico
Izzy Gallery, Toronto, Canada
James Fuentes, New York City, United States
João Barbado – Lisboa, Portugal
Museo Arocena ,Torreón, Mexico
Museum Dr Guislain Gent
Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul Turkey
Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, San Jose
State University, San Jose, United States
Photokina, Cologne, Germany
SIPF Gillman Barracks, Singapore
SNAP! Gallery, Orlando, Florida, United States
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona, United States
Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts, India
Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney, Australia
TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Canary Islands
Von der Heydt-Kunsthalle, Wuppertal-Barmen
Wei-Ling Contemporary, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Zemack Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
2015
Bogotá Photo Festival, Bogotá, Colombia
CAFAM, Beijing, China
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin, United States
David Krut Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Frigoriferi Milanesi, Milan, Italy
Fried Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa
Galerie Karsten Greve, Köln, Germany
Galerie Rudolphe Janssen, Masks, Brussels, Belgium
Galerie Senda, Barcelona, Spain
Kafka House, Prague, Czech Republic
Kyotographie, Kyoto, Japan
La Fabrica, Madrid, Spain
Montserrat, Barcelona, Spain
Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Image, Braga, Portugal
Photoink, New Delhi, India
Pori Art Museum, Pori , Finland
Serlachius Museum, Mänttä, Finland
2014
Atlas Sztuki, Lotz, Poland.
Circa Gallery, Johannesburg.
Festival de la Luz, Buenos Aires.
Fotografiska, Stockholm, Sweden.
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France.
Galerie Karsten Greve, One Man Show “Asylum of the Birds”, Paris Photo, France.
Kulungwana, Maputo, Mozambique.
Kunst- und Kulturzentrum Monschau, Aachen, Deutschland.
Moscow Media Centre, Moscow Russia.
Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil.
Museum Dr. Guislain, Gent, Belgium.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome.
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
2013
Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, Northern Island.
Galerie Clairefontaine, Luxembourg.
Johannesburg Art Fair, South Africa.
Maison De L’Image Documentaire, The CèTávoiR Association, Paris, France.
Museum of Old and New, Hobart Australia.
Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Denmark.
Photoink, New Delhi, India.
Pingao International Photography Festival, China.
Palm Springs Art Museum, California, USA.
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC, USA.
Westlicht, Schauplatz fur Fotografie, Vienna, Austria.
2012
Erdmann Contemporary & the Photographers Gallery za, Cape Town, South Africa.
Guate Festival, Guatemala de la Asunción, Guatemala.
Kleinschmidt Fine Photographs, Wiesbaden, Germany.
Kunstalle, Vienna, Austria.
Manchester Art Museum, England.
Marta Herford Museum, Herford, Germany.
Musee de l Elysee, Lausanne Switzerland.
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
Northwest University Museum, Potchestroom, South Africa.
Novosibirsk Art Museum, Russia.
Rosphoto, St. Pieterburg, Russia.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel.
2011
Angkor Photo Festival, Cambodia.
Fahey Klein, Los Angles, California.
Fondazione Terre Medicee, Seravezza, Italy.
Galerie Alex Daniels – Reflex Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg, Germany.
Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Canada.
Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands.
Omsk Museum, Russia.
Sammlung Prinzhorn, Outland andShadow Chamber, Heidelberg, Germany.
2010
Bozar, Brussels.
Comune di Arco/Galleria Civica, Italy.
Centro de Arte la Regenta, Las Palmas, Spain.
Festival of Photography of Savignano, Italy.
Gallery Photographer RU, Moscow, Russia.
Galerie Sabine Knust, Munich, Germany.
Galeria Max Estrella.
Galeria Senda. Barcelona, Spain.
Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris, France.
George Eastman House, Rochester, USA.
Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA.
Lismore Regional Gallery, Australia.
Photonet Galerie, Wiesbaden, Germany.
Rooke Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum, Munich, Germany.
Stenersen Museum, Oslo.
Sydney Biennale, Australia.
University of the O.F.S., South Africa.
Ubuntu, Salzburg Austria.
Ubuntu, Berlin, Germany.
2009
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.
City Museum of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA.
Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy.
Kamel Mennour, Paris, France.
National Library of Australia, Canberra.
Ontario College of Art & Design, Toronto, Ontario.
Triennale, Milan, Italy.
University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
2008
AEREA / Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden.
Art Gallery of Western Australia.
BWA Gallery, Katowice, Poland.
On Photography, Galerie Alex Daniels – Reflex Amsterdam.
Hertzelia Artists Host Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Omaggio a Federico Vender at Palazzo dei Panni of Arco Trento Su Palatu, Sardinia.
2007
Aura Gallery, Hong Kong.
Clint Roenisch Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg.
The Holy Summer, Galerie Alex Daniels – Reflex Amsterdam.
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA.
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg.
Robert Klein Gallery, Boston.
Yours Gallery, Warsaw, Poland.Photographer’s Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sasol Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Stills Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
2005
Aura Gallery, Shanghai.
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem.
Durban Art Gallery, South Africa.
“Fraught”, Galerie Alex Daniels – Reflex Amsterdam (solo).
Gagosian Gallery, New York.
2004
Berkeley Art Museum, California.
Le Chateau d’ eau a Toulouse.
State Museum of Russia, St. Petersburg.
COLLECTIONS
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Berkeley Art Museum, California
Biblioteque Nationale, Paris
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Alabama, USA
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Durban Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa
Fotomuseum, Munchen, Germany
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, USA
Haifa Museum of Art, Israel
Hasselblad, Goteborg, Sweden
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
Johannesburg Art Museum, South Africa
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA
Louisiana Museum, Denmark
Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester. United Kingdom
Musée de la Photographie á Charleroi, Belguim
Musee de l’Elysee , Lausanne, Switzerland
Museet for Fotokunst, Denmark
Museo nazionale Della Fotographia, Brescia, Italy
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
National Museum of Film and Photography, Bradford UK
Palm Springs Art Museum, California
Oliewenhuis, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spencer Art Museum, Kansas, USA
State Museum of Russia, Moscow, Russia
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Tate Britain, London, UK
Tel Aviv Museum, Israel
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia, USA
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, USA
PUBLISHED BOOKS
Roger Ballen – Polaroids, Reflex Amsterdam, 2017
Ballenesque, Roger Ballen: A Retrospective, Thames & Hudson, 2017
The Theatre of Apparitions, Thames & Hudson, 2016
Asylum of the Birds, London: Thames & Hudson, 2014.
Roger Ballen, Paris: Nathan, Photo Poche series, 2012.
Animal Abstraction, Exhibition catalogue Galerie Alex Daniels, Amsterdam: Reflex, 2011
Boarding House, London: Phaidon, 2009.
Shadow Chamber, London: Phaidon, 2005.
Fact or Fiction, Paris: Kamel Mennour, 2003, ISBN 291417109-9.
Outland, London: Phaidon, 2001.
Cette Afrique là, Paris: Nathan, Photo Poche series, 1997.
Platteland, Rivonia (ZA): William Waterman, and London: Quartet Books, 1994; New York: St. Martin’s, 1996.
Dorps: Small Towns of South Africa, Cape Town: Hirt and Carter, 1986. (Reprinted by Protea Boekhuis, 2011)
Boyhood, New York/London: Chelsea House, 1979.
AWARDS
Best Music Video, I Fink U Freeky, Plus Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Bydgoszcz, Poland
I Fink U Freeky. Award for best music video at the 20th Short Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Portugal, 2012
Finalist – Lucie Awards
Curator/Exhibition of the Year: Roger Ballen: Photographs 1982 – 2009. Curated by Dr. Anthony Bannon for the George Eastman House, Rochester, New York.
Art Directors Club Award Photography – 2006
Selma Blair Witch Project – New York Times Magazine, October 31st 2005
Top 10 Exhibition, Matthew Higgs, Artforum-2004
Citigroup Prize, finalist, UK – 2002
Photographer of the Year, Rencontres d’ Arles – 2002
Top 10 Exhibition, Vince Aletti, Artforum – 2002
Photo Espana, Best Photographic Book of the Year, Spain – 2001
Photo-eye, Best Documentary Title, Best Photography Books of 2001
Sani Festival, Best Solo Exhibition, Greece, 2000
Special mention: UNICEF Photo of the Year 2001