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 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.
His contribution has not been limited to stills photography and 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 125-million hits on YouTube. He has taken his work into the realms of sculpture and installation, at Paris’ Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (2017), Australia’s Sydney College of the Arts (2016) and at the Serlachius Museum in Finland (2015) is to name but a few. The spectacular installation at Les Rencontres d’Arles 2017, “House of the Ballenesque” was voted as one of the best exhibitions for 2017. In 2018 at the Wiesbaden Biennale, Germany, another installation “Roger Ballen’s Bazaar/Bizarre” was created in an abandoned shopping centre. Ballen has published over 25 books internationally. His works are in more that 50 of the most important international museum collections.
Roger Ballen was one of the artists representing South Africa at the Venice Biennale Arte 2022 in Italy.
Selected solo exhibitions
2023
Roger Ballen – A Journey through the Ballenesque, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
2022
Galleria Lume, Sao Paulo, Brasil
diChroma photography, Madrid, Spain
Senigallia City of Photography, Senigallia, Italy
Fotomuseum Den Haag, Netherlands
Venice Biennale Arte 2022 “The Milk of Dreams”, Venice, Italy
2021
Fotomuseum Den Haag, Netherlands
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
Jakopič Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Portugal Centre of Photography, Oporto City, Portugal
2020
The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, USA
Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece
Artco Gallery Berlin
Halle St Pierre, Paris, France
Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Francisco Carolinum, Austria
Camara Oscura, Spain
2019
Roger Ballen Bilder & Bretter, Berlin, Germany
Center of Photography, Montevideo, Uruguay
Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels, Belgium
Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan, Italy
Galerija Fotogafija, Slovenija
Halle St Pierre, Paris, France
Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Latvian Museum of Photography, Latvia
2018
Alter Ego, ARTCO Gallery, Aachen, Germany
Box Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Bronze Horse Gallery, Krasnodar, Russia
Center of Photography, Montevideo, Uruguay
City Art Gallery, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
El Centro de Extension Alfonso Lagos (CECAL UdeC), Chile
Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, United States
Futuredome Le Dictateur, Milan, Italy
Galeria Senda, Barcelona, Spain
Galerija Fotografia, Ljubljana, Slovenija
M. Contemporary, Sydney, Australia
Museu Fotografia Fortaleza, Brazil
Museum of Fine Arts Ekaterinburg Foto Summer, Russia
National Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Photo18 Zurich, Switzerland
PH Photo Centre, Cape Town, South Africa
School of the Photographic Arts, Ottawa, Canada
Wiesbaden Biennale, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Germany
2017
„The House of the Ballenesque“ Maison des Peintres, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France
Hamiltons Gallery – London, United Kingdom
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, United States
La ERRE Cultural Soace, Guatemala
Origins Centre Association, Johannesburg, South Africa
Guandong Museum, China
Akershus Kunstsenter, Lillestrom, Norway
Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga, New Zealand
Biennial Fotografica Bogota, Columbia
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota Florida, United States
Stadtmuseum + Kunstsammlung Jena, Jena, Germany
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
Museum of Image, Braga, Portugal
Photoink, New Delhi, India
Pori Art Museum, Pori , Finland
Serlachius Museum, Mänttä, Finland Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile
Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil
2014
Moscow Media Centre, Moscow, Russia
Museu Oscar Niemeyter, Brazil
Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, Italy
Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Festival de la Luz, Buenos Aires, Chile
Fotografiska, Stockholm, Sweden
Kunst- und Kulturzentrum Monschau, Aachen, Germany
Mueum Dr. Guislain, Gent, Belgium
Musee Nicephore Niepce, Chalon-sur Saone, France
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2013
Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, Northern Ireland
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, United States
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, Great Britain
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. Petersburg, Russia
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
2011
Angkor Photo Festival, Cambodia
Fondazione Terre Medicee, Seravezza, Italy
Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Canada
Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands
Omsk Museum, Russia
Sammlung Prinzhorn, Outland and Shadow Chamber, Heidelberg, Germany
2010
Comune di Arco/Galleria Civica, Italy
Centro de Arte la Regenta, Las Palmas, Spain
Festival of Photography of Savignano, Italy
George Eastman House, Rochester, United States
Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum, Munich, Germany
Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway
Sydney Biennale, Australia
University of the O.F.S., South Africa
Ubuntu, Salzburg Austria
Ubuntu, Berlin, Germany
George Eastman House, Rochester, United States
Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum, Munich, Germany
Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway
Sydney Biennale, Australia
University of the O.F.S., South Africa
2008
AEREA / Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden
Hertzelia Artists Host Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel
Omaggio a Federico Vender at Palazzo dei Panni of Arco Trento Su Palatu, Sardinia, Italy
2007
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
2006
Atlanta College of Arts, United States
Berlin Biennial, Berlin, Germany
Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, France
Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Guido Costa Projects, Torino, Italy
Museum voor Fotografie, Antwerp, Belgium
National Arts Festival, South Africa
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloem, South Africa
Photographer's Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Sasol Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2005
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, United States
2004
Berkeley Art Museum, California, United States
Le Chateau d' eau a Toulouse, France
State Museum of Russia, St. Petersburg, Russia
2002
Centro Cultural de Maia, O'Porto, Portugal
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, United States
Musee Nicephore Niepce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Museo Nazionalle Italy, Brescia, Italy
Museet for Fotokunst, Odense, Danmark
Sala Rekalde, Bilbao, Spain
2001
Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town, South Africa
Encontros da imagem, Braga, Portugal
Fotoforum, Frankfurt, Germany
Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg, Sweden
International Photo Festival, Herten, Herten
Krefelder Kunstmuseen, Krefeld, Germany
Mateo Inurria, Cordoba, Spain
PhotoEspana, Madrid, Spain
Printemps de Septembre a Toulouse, France
Rupertinum, Salzburg. Austria
Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germane
2000
Museum of Photography, Athens, Greece
Noordelicht, Amsterdam, Netherlans
Royal Theatre of Namur, Belgium
Sani Festival, Greece
Thessaloniki, Month of Photography, Greece
1999
Month of Photography, Bratislava, Slovakia
Month of Photography, Cape Town, South Africa
1998
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland
Kunstal Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
1996
Eindhoven Photographic Festival, Netherlands
Tarranto Gallery, New York City, United States
1995
Arles Photographic Festival, Arles, France
Royal Festival Hall/Hayward, London, Great Britain
1994
Afrikaner Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
Michaelis Collection, Cape Town, South Africa
1986
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
1982
Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa
1981
Centre for Photography, Denver, United States
Selected group exhibitions
2022
The Loft Wang Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
Vernissage L’enfance dans la collection agnes b. at La Fab, Paris, France
The Lonka Project, Jewish Museum and Tolerance, Moscow, Russia
Resister Encore, Film screening and talks, Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne, France
SP Arte, Brazil
2021
The Lonka Project, Berlin, Germany
S.M.A.K “GIFTED” Tentoonstelling Collectie Agenda Vrienden, Ghent, Belgium
Xiamen Art Expo, China
2020
Analog Phtography Festival, Barrydale, Karoo, South Africa
Fine Arts Asia Fair at Boogie Woogie Photography booth, Hong Kong
Mironova Gallery, Kyiv
PHOTO IS:RAEL The Lonka Project, Israel online
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Belgium
No Joke, Plato, Czech Republic
Koenig Gallery with Ballen, Datuna and Katrakis, Germany
ArtB Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Studio Silvio Pasqualini, Italy
Luminic Photography Festival, Catalonia, Spain
2018
ARTCO Gallery, Aachen – Unleashed with Hans Lemmen
Bonnefaunten Museum, Netherlands – UNLEASHED with Hans Lemmen
Electril I Ilunya Fotografia Coleccion Olor Visual, Barcelona, Spain
Haute Photographie Fotografiska Stockholm, Sweden
Il Terzo Giorno, Parma, Italy
Ngorongoro II, Berlin, Germany
Nicodum Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Nordic Lights, Norway – NO JOKE with Asger Carlsen
Project Space Brut Seoul Art Centre, South Korea
Walls Have Ears, Doors Have Eyes, Wei-Ling Contemporary, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2016
AIPAD -The Association of International Photography Art Dealers, New York, United States – Etherton Gallery
Kendell Geers – Sindika Dokolo Foundation in Luanda
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark – Roger Ballen with Asger Carlsen
2016
AIPAD -The Association of International Photography Art Dealers, New York, United States
Kendell Geers – Sindika Dokolo Foundation in Luanda
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark – Roger Ballen with Asger Carlsen
2012
„Art of Others, Outsiders, Self Taught and Native Artists" Haifa Museum, Haifa, Israel
„The Art of Photography Show" San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, California, United States
„Confounding: Contemporary Photography" National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
„Domestic Disorder in Contemporary Art" Musexpo, Gouggainville, France
„Play" Turnhout, Antwerp, Belgium
„The Rise and Fall of Apartheid" International Centre of Photography, New York, United States
„Seeing Eye, Brundyn and Gonsalves" Cape Town, South Africa
„Traumwelten – In the Court of the King of Dreams" Kunsthalle HGN, Duderstadt, Germany
„Twins, Center for Photography" Woodstock, New York, United States
2011
„High Speed Insanity" Blomquist, Oslo, Norway
Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Niteroi, Rio de Janerio, Brazil
National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru, India
2010
„BIP 2010" Liege, Belgium
„PEEKABOO!" Helsinki Art Museum Tennis Palace, Finland
2008
„After Nature" New Museum, New York, United States
„Cautionary Tales, Albuquerque" United States
„New York Photo Festival" New York, United States
2004
„Making Faces" Musée de l'Elysée, France
2002
„Citigroup Photography Prize" London, Great Britain
„Centro Cultural de Maia O'Porto, Portugal
National Portrait Gallery, London, Great Britain
„Dislocation" Sala Rekalde Bilbao, Spain
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Great Britain
2001
Museet for Fotokunst, Odensen, Danmark
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2000
„Portraits of Africa"Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
1999
Film & Television, Bradford, Great Britain
National Portrait Gallery, London, Great Britain
1998
„Comment Jouer Enfermement" Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris, France
National Portrait Gallery, London, Great Britain
1997
„Double Vie, Double Vue" Fondation Cartier pour l'art Contemporain, Paris, France
South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
AWARDS
2012
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
2006
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
2004
Selma Blair Witch Project - New York Times Magazine, October 31st 2005
Top 10 Exhibition, Matthew Higgs, Artforum
2002
Citigroup Prize, finalist, UK
Photographer of the Year, Rencontres d' Arles
Top 10 Exhibition, Vince Aletti, Artforum
2001
Photo-eye, Best Documentary Title, Best Photography Books of 2001
PhotoEspana, Best Photographic Book of the Year, Spain
2000
Sani Festival, Best Solo Exhibition, Greece
Special mention: UNICEF Photo of the Year 2001
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
