biography
“I once ruled the worlds. Not just one, but many. I ruled them with mirrors and lenses. I ruled them with light and shadow and time. Sometimes I ruled with a trick of the eye. Through my camera, an entire cosmos took shape, and each world within it seemed to operate by a certain unfamiliar logic, like a sort of magical clockwork.”
Born in 1977 in Cologne and brought up in the southern German countryside, Jan von Holleben lived most of his youth in an alternative commune and identifies a strong connection between the development of his photographic work and the influence of his parents, a cinematographer and child therapist. At the age of 13, he followed his father’s photographic career by picking up a camera and experimenting with all sorts of „magical tricks“, developing his photographic imagination and skills with friends and family and later honing his technique in commercial settings. After pursuing studies in teaching children with disabilities at the Pädagogische Hochschule in Freiburg, he moved to London, earned a degree in the Theory and History of Photography at Surrey Institute of Art and Design, and became submerged within the London photographic scene, where he worked as picture editor, art director and photographic director. He quickly set up two photographic collectives, Young Photographers United and photodebut, followed more recently by the Photographer’s Office. His body of photographic work focusing on the ‘homo ludens’ – the man who learns through play, is itself built from a playful integration of pedagogical theory with his own personal experiences of play and memories of childhood.
Jan von Holleben’s work has been exhibited internationally and published widely throughout the world.
His favourite collaborators are: his friends and any pirates, fairies, dragons, monsters and punks that are about. Also the sun behind some tiny clouds, Zeit Magazin, Neon Magazine Dazed&Confused, Geo and Steidl Publishers.
Otherwise he greatly fancies loads of cups of green tea, Bircher Müsli, colourful socks & sneakers, his bike and walking in the mountains, Yo yo yo!
cv
1977 Cologne, Germany.
Lives and works in London, Berlin and Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl.
awards
| 2010 | Lens Culture Award – Honorable Mention / San Francisco |
| 2009 | Aesthetica Award – Runner up / London Unicum Award – Best Ad / Bochum Lead Award – Auszeichnung / Hamburg |
| 2008 | Backlight Artist’s Residency, Finland Bronze – Idn + graniph Universe Award / Tokyo Nomination – Joop Swart Master Class, Amsterdam |
| 2007 | Florence Biennale Award for Photography / Florence Photographery Masters Cup/ London-Beverly Hills PHE07 Best Photography Books of 2007 for ‘Dreams of Flying’/ Madrid Gold – PX3 Photography Award / Paris Gold – Best CP Award / Munich Finalist – Cedefop Award / Thessaloniki Gold – Art for Aid Award / Amsterdam |
| 2006 | International Photography Award / Los Angeles Pilsner Urquell Ambassador for German Photography / Cologne Young Portfolio Award / Kiyosato Free Range Photographic Ambassador / London Magenta Award / Toronto Honours – Hyeres Festivale de la Photographie / Hyeres Gold – Lead Award / Hamburg Festimage / Chaves Photoreview Award / Langhorne |
| 2004 | Audi / Next Level Photographic Award / London London Photographic Award / London The Observer Hodge Photographic Award / London International Photography Award / Los Angeles |
| 1998 | FotoSalon Preis / Kirchzarten |
education
| 2000 – 2002 | BA (Hons) Photography (Theory and History) – SIAD University, Farnham |
| 1999 – 2000 | Studies in Teaching Children with Disabilities – Pädagogische Hochschule, Freiburg |
| 1997 – 2000 | Photographic Apprentice – Prisma Productions, Freiburg |
| 1997 | Baccalaureate Diploma (A-Levels) – MSG, Breisach |
work
| 2007- | Founder ‘The Photographer’s Office’ / www.phtgrphrs.com |
| 2005-2007 | Director of Photography at POCKO People |
| 2003-2005 | Director of Photography DIVA Magazine / London |
| 2002-2008 | Founder and Director ‘photodebut’ / www.photodebut.org |
| 2001 | Artistic Director and Managing Director ‘Young Photographers United’ / www.ypu.org |
publications
| regulars: | Die Zeit, Spiegel Wissen, Chrismon, Neon, Creative Review, Dazed& Confused, Diva, Day 4, Dummy, Emotion, Geo, Geolino, Zeit Magazin, Zeit Campus |
| others: | Adbusters, Art Review, Bant, Brigitte, Dumbo Feather, DPI, GeoLino, IDN, Irish Times, Label, Liberation, Max, Next Level, Ojodepez, Photo Review, Photography, Repubblica, Rojo, Style 100, The Face, The Sunday Review, Sleazenation, SZ-Magazin, Vice, Vogue Girl |
solo exhibitions
| 2010 | Nur gespielt, Städtische Galerie Friedrichsbau, Bühl White Lakes, pool gallery, Berlin, collaborative works of Michelle Jezierski and Jan von Holleben Best of 000-010, Gesto, Porto |
| 2009 | Mutatis Mutandis, Farmani Gallery, New York Liebesorte, c/o Berlin |
| 2008 | It’ll happen here, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta Dreams of Flying, Graniph, Sydney Dreams of Flying, BZ Galerie, Freiburg Kleines Glück Grosses Spiel, UNO Gallery, Stuttgart The Snowbed, Radialsytem, Berlin* |
| 2007 | wir werden immer grösser, Galerie Robinson, Paris* wir werden immer grösser , Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York* 11 -21, NeunPlus, Berlin (book) Dreams of Flying, V&A Museum of Childhood, London |
| 2006 | Dreams of Flying, Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York (book) |
| 2005 | Dreams of Flying, Nogoodwindow, Paris |
| 2001 | The Apricot, Kunstverein Kirchzarten, Kirchzarten |
| 2000 | The Mystery of…, Jos Fritz, Freiburg Punkt B, Hans Bodirsky, Freiburg |
| 1999 | Madia Pradesh- India’98, Hans Bodirsky, Oberrotweil Jansichten, Spitalkirche, Breisach |
selected group exhibitions
| 2011 | Slippy Floor, Pavlovs Dog, Berlin The pleasure is all mine, Finch&Ada, New York |
| 2010 | Why we love Photography, HOST Gallery, London 11-21 Youth in photographs – a dialogue, Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Darmstadt |
| 2009 | Slideluck Potshow, Santa Fe DayFour, You can’t always get what you want, London Itchy Scratchy, Permanent Gallery, Brighton Once upon a time, Hereford Photography Festival VisualLeader, Haus der Fotografie Deichtorhallen, Hamburg Microhumanoids, Galerie Baer, Dresden Flash Forward, Monte Clark Gallery, Toronto (catalogue) Focus, T & P Fine Art Gallery, Philadelphia Tickle Attack, Fotofestiwal 2009, Lodz Art Center, Lodz I want to be happy, UNO Gallery, Stuttgart |
| 2008 | Unseen Photography, Backlit Gallery and Studios, Nottingham Slideluck Potshow, McCarren Park Pool, NYC Backlight, International Photography Triennale, Tampere * A Looking Glass Eye, Claire de Rouan Staircase, London Summershow Foto8, Host Gallery, London International Contemporary Floating Print-out Exhibition, Székesfehérvar Backstage Puristen, + Christian Hoedl, Oona Galerie, Berlin Young and Emerging Artists, CGU Art Galleries, Claremont/ CA (catalogue) Querdenker, Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Darmstadt (catalogue) Eröffnungsausstellung, Dummy Galerie, Berlin |
| 2007 | 6 Biennale Internationale dell’Arte Contemporanea, Florence (catalogue) Kinderleicht lernen, Liederhalle, Stuttgart Photovoice Auction 2007, Reuters, London (catalogue) Art for Aid, Unicef & Sothebys, Amsterdam (catalogue) Und#2, Ferenbalm-Gurbrue Station, Karlsruhe Young Portfolio Acquisitions2006, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art, Kiyosato (catalogue) |
| 2006 | Chance, Agnes B, London (catalogue) * VisualLeader, Haus der Fotografie Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (catalogue) * Peeping Tom, Galerie Gana-Beaubourg, Paris Slices of Life, Ferenbalm-Gurbrue Station, Karlsruhe Flash Forward, Monte Clark Gallery, Toronto (catalogue) Photovoice, Annual Fundraiser Auction, Reuters, London (catalogue) Petites Morts, Glass House Gallery, London |
| 2005 | All I want for Christmas, Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York |
| 2004 | Audi / Next Level Photographic Award, Audi Forum, London Photodebut – It Went Dark and I Saw, London College of Communication, London The Observer Hodge Photographic Award, The Reading Room, London DAY4- Home, Homebar, London Photodebut, 4 Corners Gallery, London |
| 2003 | Reduced, Century Gallery, London Photodebut, 18 Charlotte Road, London |
| 2002 | The Unscene Awards, Catto Contemporary, London F.light, The Well at The Old Truman Brewery, London (catalogue) Rhythm Indigo, Dust, London (catalogue) |
| 2001 | Art10k.com, Tate Modern and Photographers Gallery, London Public Living Rooms, Instant, Karlsruhe Mostra-T, Plastic / Conventino & Plastic & Galleria d’Arte Allidoro, Pesaro (catalogue) Contemporary Photography, West End Centre, Aldershot |
| 2000 | Passagen und Uebergaenge Art Award, Friedrichsbau, Bühl (catalogue) |
* touring exhibitions
monographs
| Forthcoming | ‘Things that had to happen – on John Baldessari, Steidl Publishers, Göttingen |
| 2011 | Adventures in Editora, The Photographer’s Office, Berlin |
| 2010 | HO HO HO, The Photographer’s Office, Berlin |
| 2009 | Mutatis Mutandis, The Photographer’s Office, London Dreams of Flying vol.2, The Photographer’s Office, London |
| 2008 | Träume vom Fliegen, Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg The Snowbed , The Photographer’s Office, London |
| 2007 | 11-21, The Photographer’s Office, London 1585 Deutsche Börse + Xchange, Corps, Düsseldorf |
| 2006 | Dreams of Flying, The Photographer’s Office, London And various artist’s books, catalogues and publications. |
