Twelve photographers
CARL DE KEYZER
Born 1958, Kortrijk, Belgium. Lives and works in Ghent.
After his studies in photography and film at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Carl de Keyzer became a freelance photographer and taught at the Royal Academy from 1982 to 1989. During this period, he also co-founded and co-directed the photo gallery XYZ-Photography in Ghent.
He gained international recognition in 1987 with the publication of his book India, which was awarded the Grand Prix of the Triennale de Fribourg. In 1989, his second publication, Homo Sovieticus, which deals with the collapse of the Soviet Union, sealed his fame and led to his nomination at Magnum Photos in 1990. The next year, Carl de Keyzer won the Eugene Smith Award.
Between 1990 and 1992, he surveyed the United States by photographing different places of worship. The resulting book God, Inc. looks at the relationship between patriotism and religious aspirations.
The next year, Carl de Keyzer won the Eugene Smith Award. Between 1990 and 1992, he surveyed the United States by photographing different places of worship. The resulting book God, Inc. looks at the relationship between patriotism and religious aspirations. © Carl De Keyzer / Magnum Photos
A distinct thematic and formal analogy can be found in Tableaux d’Histoire, which was published in 2002. In this book, Carl de Keyzer breaks with the precept that History unfolds linearly and opts for chaotic synchronism. His latest publication Zona (2003) brings together photographs taken in seventy Siberian prison camps. Here, he documents the astonishing mises en scène in these modern-day gulags.
Awards (selection):
1988 Grand Prix, Triennale de la Ville de Fribourg.
1990 The Rencontres d’Arles Book Award.
1990 The Eugene Smith Award, International Center for Photography.
1992 Prix de la Critique, Kodak Award.
1995 Staatsprijs voor Beeldende Kunsten.
Exhibitions (selection):
1990 Homo Sovieticus, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland.
1992 God, Inc., California Museum of Photography, Riverside, USA.
1996 East of Eden, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium.
1997–2004 Tableaux d’Histoire, Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, France; Nicolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2 2003–2004 Zona, Caermersklooster, Ghent, Belgium; Canal Isabel II, Madrid, Espagne; Musée de la Croix-Rouge, Geneva, Switzerland.
Publications (selection):
Homo Sovieticus. Focus, Amsterdam, 1989.
God, Inc. Focus, Amsterdam, 1992.
East of Eden. Ludion, Ghent, 1996.
Europa. Ludion, Ghent, 2000.
Zona. Trolley, London, 2003.
After his studies in photography and film at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Carl de Keyzer became a freelance photographer and taught at the Royal Academy from 1982 to 1989. During this period, he also co-founded and co-directed the photo gallery XYZ-Photography in Ghent.
He gained international recognition in 1987 with the publication of his book India, which was awarded the Grand Prix of the Triennale de Fribourg. In 1989, his second publication, Homo Sovieticus, which deals with the collapse of the Soviet Union, sealed his fame and led to his nomination at Magnum Photos in 1990. The next year, Carl de Keyzer won the Eugene Smith Award.
Between 1990 and 1992, he surveyed the United States by photographing different places of worship. The resulting book God, Inc. looks at the relationship between patriotism and religious aspirations.
The next year, Carl de Keyzer won the Eugene Smith Award. Between 1990 and 1992, he surveyed the United States by photographing different places of worship. The resulting book God, Inc. looks at the relationship between patriotism and religious aspirations. © Carl De Keyzer / Magnum Photos
A distinct thematic and formal analogy can be found in Tableaux d’Histoire, which was published in 2002. In this book, Carl de Keyzer breaks with the precept that History unfolds linearly and opts for chaotic synchronism. His latest publication Zona (2003) brings together photographs taken in seventy Siberian prison camps. Here, he documents the astonishing mises en scène in these modern-day gulags.
Awards (selection):
1988 Grand Prix, Triennale de la Ville de Fribourg.
1990 The Rencontres d’Arles Book Award.
1990 The Eugene Smith Award, International Center for Photography.
1992 Prix de la Critique, Kodak Award.
1995 Staatsprijs voor Beeldende Kunsten.
Exhibitions (selection):
1990 Homo Sovieticus, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland.
1992 God, Inc., California Museum of Photography, Riverside, USA.
1996 East of Eden, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium.
1997–2004 Tableaux d’Histoire, Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, France; Nicolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2 2003–2004 Zona, Caermersklooster, Ghent, Belgium; Canal Isabel II, Madrid, Espagne; Musée de la Croix-Rouge, Geneva, Switzerland.
Publications (selection):
Homo Sovieticus. Focus, Amsterdam, 1989.
God, Inc. Focus, Amsterdam, 1992.
East of Eden. Ludion, Ghent, 1996.
Europa. Ludion, Ghent, 2000.
Zona. Trolley, London, 2003.