Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen - Polaroid #0304-3

Biografía del Artista: Roger Ballen (New York, USA, 1950) is widely regarded as one of the essential and most influential photographers of the 21st century. His work has been exhibited around the world and is part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the MoMA, Tate Britain, Centre Georges Pompidou, Maison Européene de la Photographie, and the Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi. The son of a Magnum photo editor, he worked as a geologist and mining consultant before embarking on his own photographic career, documenting small villages in rural South Africa and their isolated inhabitants. His images are both powerful social statements and disturbing psychological studies. His work “Outland” is considered one of the most extraordinary photographic documents of the late 20th century. His recognizable photographic style has evolved from square format and black and white, to color and collaborative projects with other artists. His early works are clearly influenced by documentary photography, but since the early 1990s he has been developing a style that he himself describes as “documentary fiction.” “Roger Ballen in Color” presents his colour photographs after having photographed in black and white for over fifty years. These have been created in Johannesburg since 2018 in an environment that could be described as “ballenesque”. In addition, we present for the first time in a world his new drawings created during the COVID-19 lockdown. Roger was selected to participate in the South African National Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022.