ROGER BALLEN

Born in New York City in 1950, Roger Ballen

has lived and worked in Johannesburg, South
Africa for almost 30 years. During this pe-
riod from 1982 to 2008 he has produced eight
books and his style has evolved from photo-
journalism to a unique artistic vision. The
subject of animals has been an essential theme
to Ballens work since he started photography
over 40 years ago.
Ballens work has been shown in important
institutions throughout the world and is re-

Animal Abstraction
presented in many Museum Collections such
as Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France;
the Tate, London, England; Stedelijk Museum
Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Museum of
Modern Art, New York, USA.

Reflex Editions Amsterdam

Animal Abstraction

ROGER BALLEN
Animal Abstraction
Roger Ballen
Animal Abstraction

Selected Photographs 2000 2011

Reflex Editions Amsterdam

4 Five Hands, 2006
6 Complex ambiguity, 2009
8 Cat In Box, 2002 9
10 Slain, 2009 11
12 Three Hands, 2006 13
14 Transformation, 2004 15
16 School Room, 2003 17
18 Eugene on the Phone, 2000 19
20 Animal Abstraction, 2002 21
22 Infanticide, 2009 23
24 Encased, 2006 25
26 Eulogy, 2004 27
28 Puppy Between Feet, 1999 29
30 Memorial, 2007 31
32 Overview, 2006 33
34 Possessed, 2009 35
36 Selma Blair and Sphynx, 2005 37
38 Boarding House, 2008 39
40 Appearances, 2003 41
42 Cat and Mouse, 2001 43
44 Puppies in Fishtanks, 2000 45
46 Child under chest of drawers, 2000 47
48 Fraught, 2003 49
50 Wiggle, 2007 51
52 Bewildered , 2003 53
54 Skins and Bones, 2007 55
56 Bewilderment, 2005 57
58 Displaced, 2011 59
60 Cat Catcher, 1998 61
62 Banner, 2009 63
64 Bite, 2007 65
66 Lunchtime , 2001 67
68 Smirk, 2009 69
70 Ambush, 2009 71
72 Cat In Pipe, 2003 73
74 Apprehended, 2005 75
76 Squawk, 2005 77
78 Rat On Back, 2003 79
80 Celebration, 2007 81
82 Onlookers, 2010 83
84 One Arm Goose, 2004 85
86 Place of the Upside Down, 2004 87
88 Untitled, 2009 89
90 Headless, 2006 91
92 Bondage, 2009 93
 BOOKS 2009 Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris, France
Animal Abstraction. Introduction by Roger Ballen. Galerie Alex Daniels, Roger Ballen; 1982 2009, La Triennale di Milano, November 2009 Muse de la Photographie Charleroi, Belguim Galerie Sabine Knust, Munich, Germany
Amsterdam 2011 Le Dictateur, Issue # 3 Museet for Fotokunst, Denmark Gallery Photographer RU, Moscow, Russia
Boarding House. Introduction by David Travis. Phaidon Press, London Massimo Minini, Sentences, 2010 Museo nazionale Della Fotographia, Brescia, Italy George Eastman House, Rochester, USA
2009 Roger Ballen retrospective, Centro de Arte La Regenta, March April 2010 Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Shadow Chamber. Introduction by Robert A Sobieszek. Phaidon Press, Skotia Gallery, First Biennial Photography Invitational, May June 2010 Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA
London 2005 7th Lane, Ellen-K, June 2010 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA Lismore Regional Gallery, Australia
Outland. Introduction by Peter Weiermair. Phaidon Press, London 2001 Roger Ballen Storie, Museo Riva del Garda, June August 2010 Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA Photonet Galerie, Wiesbaden, Germany
Cette Afrique l. Introduction by Lionel Murcott. Photo Pouche series, Edi Roger Ballen Fotografien 1969 2010, Munchner Stadtmuseum National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa Rooke Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
tions Nathan Paris 1997. National Museum of Film and Photography, Bradford UK Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum, Munich, Germany
Platteland, Images of a Rural South Africa. Introduction by Roger Ballen. FILMS Spencer Art Museum, Kansas, USA Stenersen Museum, Oslo
William Waterman Publications 1994, Quartet Books, London 1994, St Mar Memento Mori Saskia Vredeveld The Netherlands Film Fund, 2005 Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Sydney Biennale, Australia
tins Press, New York 1996. Netherlands Broadcasting Cooperation Selfportrait, Roger Ballen 2002 State Museum of Russia, Moscow, Russia Ubuntu, Berlin, Germany
Dorps, Small Towns of South Africa. Introduction by Roger Ballen. Clifton ITV Television. Platteland, Images from Rural South Africa South Bank Tate Britain, London, UK Ubuntu, Salzburg, Austria
Publications, South Africa. 1986. Show, London. 1995. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK University of the Orange Free State, South Africa
Boyhood. Introduction by Roger Ballen. Chelsea House Publishers, New South African Broadcasting Corporation. Dorps, Small Towns of South Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, USA 2009
York-London 1979. Africa. Film documentary on Roger Ballens book. 1986. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
ONE MAN EXHIBITIONS Aura Gallery, Shanghai
CATALOGUES AWARDS 2013 City Museum of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Double Vie, Double Vue, Fondation Cartier pour lart contemporain, 1997 Lucie Award, Finalist for Solo Exhibition of the year, George Eastman Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC, USA Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA
Lumo 98, Shadows, Finland, 1998 House, 2010 deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA Galerie Wolfsen, Denmark
South African National Gallery, Contemporary South African Photography, PhotoEspana 2009, Madrid Spain, Honourable mention - Best Photographic Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana, Slovenia
1998 Book of the Year for Boarding House 2012 Hamiltons, London, United Kingdom
National Museum of Photography of Film & Television, United Kingdom, Top 10 Exhibition 2004, Matthew Higgs, Artforum, December 2004 Marta Herford Museum, Herford, Germany Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
New Natural History, 1999 Honourable Mention, UNICEF Photo of the Year 2004 Kunstalle Vienna, Austria Johnen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Introduction to that Africa, Lionel Murcott, Mesiac Fotografie, November Top 10 Exhibition 2002, Vince Aletti, Artforum, December 2002 Manchester Art Museum, United Kingdom National Library of Australia, Canberra
1999 Photographer of the Year 2002, Rencontres dArles, July 2002 Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janerio, Brazil Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada
Africa Inside, Noorderlicht, The Netherlands, 2000 Photo-eye, Best Documentary Title, Best Photography Books of 2001 Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel Triennale, Milan, Italy
A Thousand Hounds, Raymond Merritt & Miles Barth, 2000 Special mention : UNICEF Photo of the Year 2001 2011 University of Johannesburg, South Africa
La Natura Della Natura Morta Fotographia, Galleria dArte Moderna, Bo PhotoEspana 2001, Madrid Spain, Best Photographic Book of the Year Galerie Alex Daniels Reflex Amsterdam, The Netherlands University of Pretoria, South Africa
logna Italy, 2002 Sani Festival, Thessaloniki Greece, Best Solo Exhibition, February 2000 Mc Dermott Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia 2008
Dislocacin Imagen & Identidad. Sudafrica, Spain, 2002 Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA AEREA / Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden
National Portrait Gallery, John Kobal, Photographic Portrait Award 2002 MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Fondazione Terre Medicee, Seravezza, Italy BWA Gallery, Katowice, Poland
Ten years: a celebration 1993 2002 Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Alabama, USA Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen, Denmark Galeria vanGuardia, Bilbao, Spain
Lateral Thinking, Art of the 1990s, Museum of Contemporary Art San Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg, Germany Hertzelia Artists Host Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel
Diego Berkeley Art Museum, California Le Mois de la Photo Montral, Canada Omaggio a Federico Vender at Palazzo dei Panni of Arco Trento
Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milano, Italy January 2003 Biblioteque Nationale, Paris Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands Su Palatu, Sardinia
Fact & Fiction, Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris France, March 2003 Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA Omsk Museum, Russia 2007
Photographers Gallery Press no. 2, Japan Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France 2010 Aura Gallery, Hong Kong
Das Geheimnis Der Photographie, Germany, 2003 Durban Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa Bozar, Brussels Art Gallery of Western Australia
The Third Body, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Germany 2004 Fotomuseum, Munchen, Germany Centro de Arte La Regenta, Las Palmas, Spain Clint Roenisch Gallery, Toronto, Canada
The Photograph as Contemporary Art, UK 2004 Hasselblad, Goteborg, Sweden Comune di Arco/Galleria Civica, Italy Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
Brutal, Tender, Human, Animal, National Library of Australia, November High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA Festival of Photography of Savignano, Italy Galerie Photonet, Wiesbaden. Germany
2008 Johannesburg Art Museum, South Africa Foundazione Terre Medicee, Italy Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA
The sorrow of death, BWA Katowice, Poland, November, 2008 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA Galeria Max Estrella, Spain Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
Darkroom, Photography and new media in South Africa since 1950, VMFA, Louisiana Museum, Denmark Galeria Senda, Barcelona, Spain Robert Klein Gallery, Boston
 Trafo Gallery, Oslo, Norway
YOURS Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2006
Atlanta College of Arts, USA
Berlin Biennial, Berlin
Biblioteque Nationale, Paris
Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
Galerie Johnen + Schttle, Cologne
Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris
Guido Costa Projects, Torino
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, USA
Museum voor Fotografie, Antwerp
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Photographers Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Sasol Art Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, Reno, USA
Stills Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2005
Aura Gallery, Shanghai
Durban Art Gallery, South Africa
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands
Gagosian Gallery, New York
Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam
2004
Berkeley Art Museum, California
Dieci Comme ltd, Tokyo
Le Chateau deau Toulouse France
State Museum of Russia, St Petersburg
2003
Galleria Carla Sozzani, Italy
Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris
2002
Centro Cultural de Maia, OPorto, Spain
Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
Gagosian Gallery, New York
Galleria Darte Moderna Bologna, Italy
Gallery of Photography, Dublin Ireland
Musee Nicephore Niepce, Chalon-sur-Saone France
Museet for Fotokunst, Odense Denmark
Museo Nazionalle Italy, Brescia Italy
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
Nuku Gallery, Oulu Finland
Sala Rekalde, Bilbao, Spain
2001
Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
Encontros da imagem, Braga Portugal National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru India
Fotoforum, Frankfurt Out of control, BIP 2010, 7th International Biennial of Photography and
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg Visual Arts, Liege 2010
Hasselblad Center, Sweden PEEKABOO! Helsinki Art Museum Tennis Palace, Finland
International Photo Festival Herten, Germany 7th Lane, Ellen-K Fine Art Photography, Norway, 2010
Kicken Gallery, Berlin Skotia Gallery First Biennial Photography Invitational, Santa Fe, USA, 2010
Krefelder Kunstmuseen, Krefeld, Germany Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
Mateo Inurria, Cordoba, Spain Untitled (Vicarious), Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA, 2008
PhotoEspana, Madrid Spain After Nature, New Museum, New York USA, 2008
Printemps de Septembre a Toulouse, France New York Photo Festival, New York USA, 2008
Rupertinum, Salzburg Cautionary Tales, Albuquerque USA, 2008
Shine Gallery, London Snaps, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg South Africa, 2005
Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart Making Faces, Muse de lElyse, 2004
2000 Citigroup Photography Prize, London, 2002
Month of Photography, Thessaloniki Sala Rekalde, Bilbao 2002 Dislocation
Museum of Photography, Athens, Greece Centro Cultural de Maia OPorto, 2002 Dislocation
Noordelicht, Amsterdam Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002 New documentary photography
Royal Theatre of Namur, Belgium 2002
Sani Festival, Greece National Portrait Gallery, London, 2002
1999 Museet for Fotokunst, Odense C Denmark, Hall of Mirrors, 2001
Fait & Cause, Paris Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Holland, Recent Acquisitions, 2001
Melkweg, Amsterdam La Natura Della Natura Morta, Italy, 2001/02
Month of Photography, Bratislava Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Portraits of Africa, 2000
Month of Photography, Cape Town National Museum of Photography of Film & Television, Bradford, United King
1998 dom, New Natural History, 1999
Kunstal Museum, Rotterdam National Portrait Gallery, London,1999
Kunsthaus, Zrich Comment Jouer Enfermement, Maison Europene de la Photographie, Paris,
Lumo 98, Finland France, 1998
Previous South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 1997.
Afrikaner Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa Double Vie, Double Vue, Fondation Cartier pour lart Contemporain, Paris
Arles Photographic Festival, Arles, France France, 1997
Colorado Centre for Photography, Denver, Colorado
Eindhoven Photographic Festival, Holland
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa
Michaelis Collection, Cape Town, South Africa
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, South Africa
Royal Festival Hall/Hayward Gallery, London, England
Shell Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Tarranto Gallery, New York City
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Fotogalerie Wien, Wien, Austria
The Morgan Library & Museum, The Kasper Collection of Drawings and
Photographs, New York, USA, 2011
Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Niteroi, Rio de Janerio, Brazil
Published on the occasion of the exhibition

Animal Abstraction - ROGER BALLEN

At Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam

October 29th December 10th 2011

COLOPHON
All photographs by Roger Ballen
Essay by Wim Pijbes, Director Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Book and cover design: Alex Daniels, Reflex Editions Amsterdam, all rights reserved.
Published by Reflex Editions Amsterdam, 2011
All images courtesy of Roger Ballen and Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam
Print: Mart.Spruijt BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Printed and finished in The Netherlands.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without prior written permission from the copyright holders.
ISBN/EAN 978-90-71848-00-1

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