The work of 49-year-old photographer Hugo Thomassen from Meerssen will be on display at a major international art exhibition in Venice until November.
“I don’t really have words for this,” he says.
Spoon poured in
From childhood photography was instilled with the spoon. “My father was a photographer. He has always recorded everything, so I was already taught the trade from home,” Thomassen says. He first followed a fashion course in Nijmegen and then went on to study photography at the academy in Maastricht. “I was the first batch there to work with digital photography instead of analog.”
Base
Limburg remains his base. “From here I take on jobs from all over the region. In Amsterdam I am one of the hundred and here I can distinguish myself.” His commercial assignments are mostly portraits and fashion-related photo shoots. But his great passion lies in the more abstract and innovative forms of photography. “Sometimes I felt an urge to go back to academy days. Everything was possible there and you could really go your own way.”
Biggest podium
Three of his works are now on display at the Venice Biennale in the Polazzo Mora. “Yes, that is really special. This is currently the largest stage where my works can be seen,” says Thomassen. Pictures of his bottle series hang at the biennale Shapes of significance† Thomassen searches for simplicity in his work. “I wonder every time, what can I leave out to make the image even stronger. In addition, I look at what is the best composition and how can I play with the shadows.”
Prices
Thomassen has already won several major awards with his minimalist works. He won the prize for best abstract image by Voque. “Because of the prizes, they may have also come to me for a place at the Biennale. It is a very strange feeling that my photos are hanging between works by very great artists. Then you feel really honoured,” says 49-year-old Thomassen.
Melanie Bonajo
The Meerssen photographer is not the only Limburger in Venice. Born and raised in Heerlen, performance artist, photographer and activist Melanie Bonajo can also be admired at the Biennale.
Also read: Heerlen artist Melanie Bonajo to Venice Biennale
This Saturday photographer Hugo Thomassen will be a guest in radiograms of the L1 Cultuurcafé.