Reservoir by Bas Princen

Heir to the tradition of the New Topographics, this photographer injects his urban views with doses of irony and surrealism.

Dutch photographer Bas Princen belongs to a generation which, in its own original way, can be seen as an extension of the legendary contributors to the original "New Topographics." This group of ten, then largely landscape photographers—including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Stephen Shore and Bernd and Hilla Becher—made their international breakthrough in 1975 (the year Princen was born) with the pseudonymous exhibition and publication at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. The group deliberately distanced themselves from what they saw as subjective photography and attempted to represent reality as realistically as possible.

Princen objectifies the post-industrial landscape he photographs in a similar way but with an added dose of irony. Through his lens, the anonymous, fragmented architecture of the urban landscape—often consisting of megalomaniacal constructions such as high-speed train links, stone quarries, office parks, ring roads, and recreation parks—is tinged with a certain magical and surrealistic aura.

Under the title "Reservoir," Princen presents a limited yet precise and well considered series of images, both in a spatial setting devised by the photographer himself as well as an artist's book. The title refers, on the one hand, to the nature reserve—the idealised landscape—and, on the other, to nature as it is manipulated by man. Together with the accompanying artist's book comprising 22 photographs together with an interview with the artist, Princen is revealed as a fascinating contemporary chronicler of our globalised civilisation.

Click here to read an interview with Domus editor Joseph Grima and Bas Princen.

Parallel with both exhibitions, two artist's books published by deSingel in collaboration with the German publisher Hatje-Cantz will be launched: "The Book(s) 1968–2010" by Peter Downsbrough and "Reservoir" by Bas Princen.

Bas Princen (b. 1975 / NL), studied design at the Design Academy Einhoven before embarking on postgraduate studies in architecture at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. Select solo exhibitions: "Five Cities," Van Kranendonk Gallery, The Hague / Institut Néerlandais, Paris / Townhouse Gallery, Cairo (2010); "Refuge," Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York / National Gallery, Amman (2010). He recently won the Silver Lion at the Venice Architecture Bienniale together with Brussels-based architects Kersten Geers and David Van Severen

3 Mar–22 May 2011
Bas Princen: Reservoir
deSingel International Arts Campus
Antwerp

Reservoir by Bas Princen

Heir to the tradition of the New Topographics, this photographer injects his urban views with doses of irony and surrealism.

Latest on News

Latest on Domus