ROGER BALLEN
1950, New York, USA
Roger Ballen was born in New York , but for nearly 40 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 effect 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. After 1994 he no longer looked to the countryside for his subject matter finding it closer to home in Johannesburg.
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.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024 The Uncanny Lens / La Lente Inquietente by Roger Ballen with Peter-Joel Witkin - Castel Ivano, Trentina, ITA
2019 Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels, BEL
2014 Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, FRA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 “Life on Mars?” Roger Ballen & Cristina Toledo - Camara Oscura, SPA
2021 Distant Bodies Dancing Eyes - Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, GER
2012 The Rise and Fall of Apartheid - International Centre of Photography, New York, USA
2011 High Speed Insanity - Blomquist, Oslo, NOR
2008 Untitled (Vicarious) - Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA
2005 Snaps - Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, RSA
2002 Dislocation - Centro Cultural de Maia O’Porto, POR
1998 Comment Jouer Enfermement - Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris, FRA
Residences & Awards
2019 Bokeh Lifetime Achievement Award
2018 Kingston University, United Kingdom, Honorary Doctor of Art and Design
2010 Lucie Award, Finalist for Solo Exhibition of the year - George Eastman House
Selected Collections
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, FRA
Getty Museum, Los Angeles California, USA
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, NED
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, NED
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C, USA
Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, RSA