ROGER BALLEN

Rooke Gallery represents Ballen's exclusive vintage works stretching back to 1968 and his contemporary bodies of work from Dorps (1986), Platteland (1994), Outland (2001), Shadow Chamber (2005) and Boarding House (2009).

Of significance is the fact that Ballen's exhibition "Photographs 1982 - 2009" held at the George Eastman House in upstate New York has been nominated as one of the Exhibitions of the Year by the Lucie Foundation - an accolade shared with The Getty Museum, MOMA (NY), The International Centre of Photography (NY) and the Tate Modern.

A collection of images spanning Roger Ballen's 40-year career will appear alongside a showing of his Boarding House series at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town from 6 November 2010. A formal opening event will be held on 27 November at 4pm at the National Gallery at which Ballen will be present. For more information click here.


"Roly Poly"
10'' x8''
1971
Silver bromide fibre print
Edition of 10


Known for documenting the small villages of rural South Africa, Ballen's photography moved on in the late 1980's and early 1990's to their inhabitants. His choice of subjects continuously attracts social scrutiny, and debate often rages regarding the true circumstances underlying the unnervingly real scenarios the photographs often depict. Is this fact or fiction?


"Woman, man and dog"
1995
40cm x 40cm
Silver bromide fibre print
Edition of 35


And all the while the average viewer misses the point entirely. From his outset in the late 1960's, Roger Ballen's photographs have captured moments that cannot be repeated. They find uncanny order in chaos and they revel in the pure pleasure of form. Whilst they deliver testament to the camera's ability to freeze a fleeting moment in time, they more importantly point out the rare ability of a photographer to elevate the ordinary into extraordinary.

It is with this as a foundation that Ballen then expands and innovates into areas that blur the disparate worlds of documentation and art.


"Sliced"
2007
50cm x 50cm
Silver bromide fibre print


Widely published and collected across the globe, Roger Ballen is undoubtedly one of the world's leading contemporary photographers.

Click here to view Roger Ballen's unseen and vintage works or here to enquire about pricing and availability of his contemporary bodies of work from Dorps (1986), Platteland (1994), Outland (2001), Shadow Chamber (2005) and Boarding House (2009).



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