Ruud van Empel
The images (or perhaps we should call them works) of Dutch visual artist Ruud van Empel are instantly recognisable, and like no other photographer. We say this, but then the photographer himself tells us he chose photography because “it does not have a recognisable style of its own. Drawing or painting do, but for me, photography is neutral. I like that.”
Where realist painters might strive to create a photographic quality with their brush, Ruud turns this notion on its head, creating a sort of photoartificialism with his camera. You’re more likely to take Ruud’s photographs for paintings at a glance.
Ruud van Empel is one of the more innovative and influential contemporary photographers working today. He has and , both of which were shown in the UK gallery for the first time. shows worlds of photo collage, where looming flowers and oversized leaves become the focus of the frame, whereas depicts nocturnal forest scenes, eerily backlit by starlight or bioluminescence.
