Vera van Almen Vera van Almen

Info

About
Vera van Almen is a Dutch artist born in 1986. based in 
’s-Hertogenbosch, in the south of the Netherlands. She graduated at the Photo Academy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 2017. While studying photography, she started experimenting more and more with photography, pushing the boundaries of the medium. Her digital camera was soon exchanged for an analogue camera, supplemented by an old-fashioned Polaroid camera. This became her favourite. She discovered the charm of allowing chance and the imperfections that come with it. The urge to experiment remained and soon she started trying out different printing techniques in the darkroom, which proved to be a pivotal moment in her artistic journey. Having to act physically to achieve images became a necessity in her process. She has since abandoned the camera entirely and now creates her images camera-less.

Artist statement
The loss of my father at a young age left me with a profound sense of the impermanence of life. In my work, I grapple with the intangible and the unknown, expressing a deep longing for something I do not know.

My creative process is just as important as the final image, involving the precise mixing of chemicals into a light-sensitive emulsion, which I apply to various types of paper. I then use my body, props and other objects to manipulate light and create my images. This slow and meditative process allows me to tap into a raw emotional force, resulting in captivating, quiet, empty images that carry a deep power of absence. Ultimately, my art is a quest for connection and meaning in a world that often feels elusive and ephemeral. 


Longing
for a place
you have never been

Longing
for a time
you do not know

Coming home
to a place
you have never been

Feeling akin
to somenone
you do not know

Losing
an other me

Feeling nothing
is that feeling something?

I did not know
that nothing
can be everything



Text by Vera van Almen 


Upcoming
9 December - 20 January Book launch Artist Book '57', Bob Manders Architecture, Art by Robert, Oisterwijk (NL)

Education
2022-2023 Le Masterklass with Klavdij Sluban, Paris (FR)
2020-2021 Masterclass with Machiel Botman, Haarlem (NL)
2016-2017 Photo Academy, Amsterdam (NL)
2010-2012 Photo Academy, Rotterdam (NL)

Exhibitions
2023 Preview Artist Book '57', De Gruyterfabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2021 Landelijk Atelierweekend, De Gruyterfabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2019 Landelijk Atelierweekend, De Gruyterfabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2019 Group exhibition Chapter6, WG Kunst, Amsterdam (NL)
2018 Best of Class, Museum Tot Zover, Amsterdam (NL)
2018 Canova Prize NYC18, 393 NYC Broadway, New York (USA) 
2017 ROMART 2017 Biennale Internationale di Arte e Cultura, Stadio di Domiziano, Rome (IT)
2017 New Dutch Photography Talent 2018, 5&33 Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
2017 REVEAL Graduation Exhibition Photo Academy, Gallery Photo Academy, Amsterdam (NL)
2017 REVEAL Graduation Exhibition Photo Academy, Loods 6, Amsterdam (NL)
2016 Kunst & Design, De Gruyterfabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2015 Revela-T photography festival, Barcelona (ES)
2015 Kunst @ Orthenstraat, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2015 Kunst & Design, De Gruyterfabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch (NL)
2012 Het Oog, Gallery Photo Academy, Rotterdam (NL)
2011 Fotogram Award 2011, Fotogram, Amsterdam (NL)

Exhibition catalogues
2018 Canova Prize / International Contemporary Art Award New York 2018 (USA)
2017 ROMART 2017 Biennale Internationale di Arte e Cultura (IT)
2017 REVEAL - Fotoacademie graduation catalogue (NL)

Publication
2023 Artist Book "57"
2019 Aesthetica Magazine (UK)
2019 Fresh Eyes European Photography Talent 2019, book by GUP Magazine (NL)
2017 New Dutch Photography Talent 2018, book by GUP Magazine (NL)

Awards and recognitions
2019 Fresh Eyes European Photography Talent 2019 (NL)
2018 Canova Prize NYC18 Shortlist (USA)
2017 ROMART 2017 Biennale Internationale di Arte e Cultura Shortlist (IT)
2017 IPA 2017, Honorable Mention, Fine Art: Nudes Category (USA)
2017 New Dutch Photography Talent 2018 (NL)
2011 Fotogram Award 2011, overall winner (NL)