RUUD VAN EMPEL

The exhibition A Perfect World by Ruud van Empel, a Dutch photographer born in 1958, explores a fascinating universe where realism and idealism come together. Known for his works that create captivating and mysterious visual worlds, van Empel, using a meticulous digital collage technique, assembles thousands of photographic fragments like a mosaic, producing images that seem both real and surreal, with every detail carefully thought out and executed.

The exhibition highlights several of the artist's iconic series, including his portraits of children and young adults, often surrounded by lush nature, inspired by the pastoral paintings of the 19th-century Netherlands. The innocent faces and perfect landscapes plunge viewers into a serene atmosphere, tinged with a slight anxiety, inviting them to question the reality of these images.

Ruud van Empel transcends the traditional boundaries of photography. His works are not snapshots of moments, images taken as a whole, but complex constructions that tell stories and evoke deep emotions, steeped as they are in memories of childhood.

Until the mid-1990s, van Empel used traditional collage techniques for his photographic assemblages. In 1995, he adopted a digital process, using the computer to create his conceptual photographs. This transition marked a turning point in the history of art photography, redefining the possibilities of the digital medium. Drawing on his vast stock of digital photographs, van Empel created a new photographic genre, which he describes as the ‘construction of a photographic image or photographic objects’.

The camera remains at the heart of his practice, providing the basic elements for his compositions, which are constructed down to the smallest detail.

The exhibition A Perfect World invites visitors to explore the utopian worlds created by van Empel. Each photograph is a window onto a parallel universe, where apparent perfection often conceals darker zones. This duality between beauty and mystery is at the heart of his work, making this exhibition a unique opportunity to discover how digital photography can generate timeless, idealised realities.