Image: Absence_France_Haute Corse, 2023
Finnasge:
11. May from 18:00 - 21:00
Location:
BBA Gallery,
Köpenicker Str. 96, 10179 Berlin
Duration:
23 Mar - 11 May 2024
Open:
Tue - Sat from 12:00 - 18:00
BBA Gallery presents the debut solo exhibition of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gaalen: “Shades of the Night”. In the ongoing series “Absence”, van Gaalen's artistic photographs of natural landscapes in the light of the full moon emphasise the importance of our unique ecosystems, the preservation of which is evermore threatened. To raise awareness of our threatened environment, the exhibition opens on Saturday 23. March on the occasion of Earth Hour (from 20:30 - 21:30).
Darkness is disappearing as light pollution within Europe is increasing at an average rate of 6.5% every year. Since 2020, the Dutch artist has been photographing unique panoramas with the simplest of equipment in the most remote areas of Europe. In these dark landscapes, unaffected by light pollution, familiar landscapes seem strangely remote. The landscapes he documents include places in Portugal, Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Czech Republic.
Shades of the Night, exhibition view at BBA Gallery, 2024
Image: Absence_France_Corse du Sud, 2023
"Shades of the Night" is a contemplative observation of the centuries-old friction between human urbanisation and the autonomy of nature. The human absence in his motifs invites inner stillness and reflection. Against the backdrop of the current climate crisis, this exhibition can be seen as a silent protest for the preservation of our environment.
Vincent van Gaalen (b. Netherlands) graduated with a degree in Photography from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, in 2011. His unique documentations of nature have been part of numerous exhibitions in the Netherlands and now in Germany. In 2022, van Gaalen was awarded a highly-coveted scholarship by the Eye on Nature Foundation, “In the same year, van Gaalen prevailed among thousands of participants in our BBA Photography Prize, where he was awarded the 1st Prize”, say BBA directors Renata Kudlacek and Vishal Shah. A multitude of photographers applied, and the jury board included nine photography experts from a wide variety of countries.
Image: Absence_Spain_Picos de Europa, 2021
Shades of the Night, exhibition view at BBA Gallery, 2024
Shades of the Night, exhibition view at BBA Gallery, 2024
Exhibition in Munich. 2023
Vincent van Gaalen, First prize winner of the BBA Photography Prize 2022, Berlin