Introduction
I have lost count, but Haute Photographie is a fixed venue during Rotterdam Art Week since 2016. First at Kop van Zuid and now for a few years in their own building on the Keilewerf.
They present themselves as “A Boutique Photography Fair with a Focus on Promising Talent and Independent Photographers during Rotterdam Art Week”.
Independent Photographers, Recognized Artists & Talents
Currently, 51 participating photographers will take part in the show, but the list is not yet closed. About half of the photographers are independent photographers who are not yet connected to a gallery. With this initiative, they confront the public, literally because most of them are also present at the fair.
Independent Photographers
Aisha Zeijpveld (NL); Annelore Bensink (NL); Annemarie van Buuren (NL); Arpad Polgar (CH); Bo Tromp (NL); Denis Felix (FR); Desiree Meijer (NL); Fleur Huijsdens (NL); Indra Moonen (NL); James Hensby (NL); Jan Kokol (DE); Maarten Koch (NL); Nancy Poeran (NL); Nienke Wind (NL); Nina Hauben (NL); Olga Karlovac (HR); Paulien Dubelaar (NL); Pieter Bas Bouwman (NL); Puck Soetens (NL); Rienk de Vries (NL); Simone Engelen (NL); Uffe Raupach (DK); Van Bennekom (NL); Xénia Fuentes (ES)
Photographers with the Kahmann Gallery
Albert Watson (UK); Antoine Khôl (FR); Asha Swillens (NL); Barry Kornbluh (US); Chantal Convertini (CH); Cooper Seykens (NL); GT Nergaard (NO); Hassan Ragab (EG); Jan C. Schlegel (DE); Jonas Bjerre Poulsen (DK); Laura Bonnefous (FR); Luuk de Haan (NL); Neeltje de Vries (NL); Nora Papp (CH); Olga Wagemans (NL); Rolf van Rooij (NL); Rutger ten Broeke (NL); Sam Warnaar (NL); Sante D’Orazio (US); Sara Punt (NL); Schilte & Portielje (NL); Takeshi Shikama (JP); YANI (NL)
Talents
Ilse Natasja (NL); Kyra ten Brink (NL); Lotte Sinke (NL); Sonja Mercedes (NL); ;
Books, Magazines and Special Editions
As always, books and special editions are prominently present, with Artibooks hosting the book market. This renowned online bookstore and representative of TASCHEN Books will display numerous independent publications by international photographers, as well as works by well-known names. Haute Photographie offers visitors the chance to explore the latest books and discover various special editions. In addition, GUP Magazine will present an overview of notable publications from the past 17.5 years.
Venue
Keilepand, Keilestraat 9F
3029BP Rotterdam
www.haute-photographie.com
Opening hours:
- Thursday February 1: Preview 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM + VIP opening 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (by invitation only)
- Friday, February 2: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday, February 3: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday, February 4: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Photographers Represented by Kahmann Gallery
Neeltje de Vries 1976 (images 1-3)
Amsterdam based photographer Neeltje de Vries crafts timeless narratives of women from the present, past and future. They are similar to film stills, where nudity is a functional artistic choice that accentuates not only purity and a connection with nature but also literally liberates. Neeltje’s women aren’t trying to please the viewer.These women are. They don’t want anything from you, regardless of what you want, they are equally untamed and untamable. Neeltje not only breaks free from the traditional way women are looked at, she also demonstrates that women are so much more than what they’ve been reduced to by the dominant male gaze and centuries-old stereotyping in a patriarchal society. Above all, she offers her unique perspective on what it means to be a woman, on what it means to break free from expectations, prejudices, roles, and patterns.
Characteristic are the geometric figures and cropping, stemming from her past as a graphic designer. Searching for the right balance, she plays with lines, shapes and frames, often incorporating the models.
Cooper Seykens 1991 (images 4-6)
Cooper Seijkens’ career began at the age of 17 by making black-and-white street portraits. At that time he was travelling through the United States with his father. When he returned to The Netherlands, viewers were fascinated by his images and asked him to copy the style, essence, and mannerisms of this travel photography. Finally at the age of 19, he decided to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.
His photographs reflect intimate moments that reveal expressive aspects and new perspectives of the subjects. He captures these precious moments by always creating an open and pleasant environment that makes people feel more confident and self-assured.
Chantal Convertini 1992 (images 7-9)
Swiss photographer Chantal Convertini will be presented for the second time at Haute, this time with a series of intimate self-portraits. With her huge passion for analogue photography, she points her camera mostly at herself, and sometimes at others. She tries to tell stories in an abstract and poetic way by using the body in different forms and applying different elements to make it more interesting.Her work has been published in several magazines, online and in print and also shown in several group exhibitions in Basel, Zurich, Paris, Milan, US, Amsterdam and now also in Rotterdam.
Last edition in Amsterdam, Chantal showed a series of works from her series OfCorse, a project in Corsica in close collaboration with a number of like-minded photographers. The book about this project will also be available at Haute Rotterdam.
Hassan Ragab (images 10-12)
Hassan Ragab is actively investigating the possibilities of using AI in his designs. By showing his works, Kahmann Gallery takes its first steps in the turbulent world of Artificial Intelligence. By integrating Ai into his multidisciplinary practice; Ragab draws from his experience as an architect to create dreamlike images of cities, buildings and interiors, often inspired by cities like his hometown Alexandria. About the use of AI he says:
“There is huge potential in exploring new technology mediums such as AI, which enable us to mix and match different areas and practices like art, architecture, and most interestingly, intangible culture. The outcome is usually a valuable product that reflects both new mediums of expression while also suggesting new aesthetics to how we perceive the world; this, in turn, could reflect on our outcomes as creators”.
Egyptian photographer Hassan Ragab has a strong architectural background and is currently living in California.
GT Nergaard 1968 (images 13-15)
The Norwegian photographer GT Nergaard started taking pictures at a young age. He saw photography as his calling and therefore went to study at the Brooks Institute of Photography in California in 1989. Here he laid a solid, highly technical foundation for his work. After his education, Nergaard returned to Norway, where he worked as a fashion, editorial and advertising photographer. Parallel to this he taught at The Norwegian School of Photography, which he co-founded in 2001.
In 2010, Nergaard left commercial photography entirely to focus on his personal work. He realised that he had to find his way back to the reason why he had chosen photography in the first place and find his photographic identity. He found this identity at the crossroad between fiction and reality. Some of his images are observations, others are staged situations. He creates a narrative, inspired by events that are closely linked to his own life. The themes of youth, freedom and vitality are central to his work.
In his work, Nergaard always starts with the location as his main inspiration and builds the concept and stories from there. As he has always had a strong fascination for the sea and lakes, water is usually the main element in the location he chooses. As a Norwegian living far north, it is according to Nergaard difficult not to be influenced by nature, which is always very close and a dominant part of the country. In comparison with many other countries the contrast is enormous, both in landscape and climate. Winters are cold and long often without daylight, in contrast to bright summers where the sun never sets. In Nergaard’s opinion, this contrast adds something unique to the way northerners think and behave, which has influenced Nordic artists throughout all eras. Their passion for the sun is difficult to understand for someone who has not grown up in the cold north.
Nergaard’s work is strongly influenced by Vitalism, the artistic impulse which made a strong impact in Nordic art in the years 1900-1930. Among artists who are connected to this impulse we find Edvard Munch and Gustav Vigeland, both representing a distinctive period in which the nude body, nature and health stood in the center, and the sun’s cleansing power was one of the central themes. All these aspects are present in Nergaards work, in which the viewer can lose oneself.
Talents: Young photographers and their first confrontation with the general public
Lotte Sinke 2002 (images 16-18)
“Fashion intrigues me because it gives us the opportunity to shape our identity and express ourselves in many ways. In this series I explore human body and the ever-changing individual, in combination with fashion. Identity and self-expression are themes that I often explore in my work. I try to visualize it in an aesthetic and sometimes abstract way. This gives the opportunity to interpret fashion in a broader way and to think about ourselves as an ever-changing individual. I approach my subjects in a subdued manner, which creates space for observing the styling, the image and its form.”
E/motion The transition of identity is a series about the fluidity and changeability of identity. In this series I merge fashion with the human body. I approach my subjects in a subdued and sensitive manner, which creates space for observing the styling, the image and its form.
Sonja Mercedes 1999 (images 19-21)
Sonja wants to capture everything that moves around her, initially just to have a tangible memory, it has become the essence of her work. Looking for the hidden stories in everything we take for granted.
Sonja just graduated from the Dutch academy of image creation, with her series GEMUS, an Indonesian word for “the overwhelming urge to love someone so much you want to hurt it”. A playful aggression that is released from love, and borders on pain. Because of her Indonesian background Sonja is familiar with this feeling, but also know that most languages do not have a word for this. In this series she looks into this paradox on the boundaries of a caress and pain, soft and hard, of tenderness and friction.
Kyra ten Brink 2002 (images 22-24)
Kyra ten Brink is one of the new talents we’ve found, she hasn’t even graduated yet from ‘Willem de Kooning Academy’, but she already shows so much authenticity in her work.
Kyra is looking for the overlooked moments and emotions and tries to capture these images, by using her own experiences and connections she creates intimate and thought-provoking photographs. Exploring themes as escapism, melancholy, growth and healing, Kyra strives to give you the feeling of being heard and seen.
Ilse Natasja 1992 (images 25-27)
One of these talents is Ilse Natasja, who impressed us with her photo installation at her exhibition, a whole other level in the way of presenting your work. The installation will also be seen at Haute.
By exploring womanhood, Ilse captures the nuances of apparent contradictions, such as strength and vulnerability, intimacy and distance, desire and doubt. She shows this in a symbolic and poetic way of art.
By genuine connections with her subjects, the results are authentic, but also moving visuals. You can see Ilse’s work as self-portraits, because of the personal quest regarding intimate feelings, thought and dreams. But you can also see her work as socially relevant and universal themes, which invites the viewer to reflect upon their own experiences.
John Devos
Correspondent L’Œil de la Photographie/The Eye of Photography
john.devos01(a)gmail.com
