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Win a Solo Exhibition in April 2026 + An Exclusive Interview!
Win a Solo Exhibition in April 2026 + An Exclusive Interview!
Lu Yanpeng
Lu Yanpeng
Lu Yanpeng

Lu Yanpeng

Country: China
Birth: 1984

Lu Yanpeng was born in 1984 in Fujian Province. He presently lives and works in Beijing. After graduating from the Art Institute of Fujian University in 2005, he has participated in numerous exhibitions both in China and internationally. Lu Yanpeng was nominated for the FOAM Paul Huf Award in the Netherlands in 2011 and received the top award at the 2011 Pingyao International Photography Festival for the Best Photographer for his work Open Air. He was the youngest artist to ever receive this award.

Lu Yanpeng is a magician as if he has Midas touch. His darkroom is his magician's cloth, where his photos are but a spectacular performance in the void. He uses his hands, a symbol of the mortal body, paintbrushes, a symbol of tools, and the material world, as represented by light and stones that become a medium for thoughts.

Although we are only able to recall from his work, we can easily imagine the details involved, because everything seems to have been done to perfection, which is in itself incredible. His darkroom skills and creative work have bypassed the barriers of human languages and tools. His strong awareness of his subjects carries him into an autonomous state. The artist in this state is not to be limited by his techniques; he is feeling the subjects spiritually without actually observing them.

Source: www.m97gallery.com

 

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More Great Photographers To Discover

Bernd and Hilla Becher
In the realm of photography, Bernd and Hilla Becher are celebrated as pioneers whose work not only revolutionized the perception of industrial landscapes but also shaped the course of conceptual photography in the 20th century. Born in Germany, Bernd Becher (1931–2007) and Hilla Becher (1934–2015) met as students at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in the late 1950s, where they forged a partnership both personally and professionally that would endure for over five decades. Bernd initially studied painting before shifting his focus to photography under the tutelage of the eminent photographer Otto Steinert. It was during this period that he began to develop his signature style characterized by precise, objective, black-and-white images of industrial structures. Hilla, meanwhile, studied graphic and printing techniques, which would later prove instrumental in the meticulous printing process integral to their photographic work. The couple's collaboration blossomed as they embarked on a lifelong mission to document the vanishing industrial landscape of post-war Germany and beyond. Their photographs primarily featured industrial structures such as mine shafts, water towers, gas tanks, and blast furnaces, meticulously captured with a straightforward, documentary approach devoid of sentimentality or subjective interpretation. What set the Bechers apart was their systematic approach to photography. They meticulously cataloged these structures, arranging them in grids or typologies that emphasized the inherent beauty and functional aesthetics of these often-overlooked forms. Their work transcended mere documentation, offering viewers a profound meditation on the intersection of industry, architecture, and human labor. Throughout their career, the Bechers remained dedicated to their craft, tirelessly traveling across Europe and the United States to capture industrial sites before they disappeared due to modernization and economic shifts. Their influence extended beyond their own photographic output; they also imparted their knowledge and passion for photography as educators at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where they mentored numerous students who would go on to make significant contributions to the field. Bernd and Hilla Becher's legacy endures not only through their extensive body of work but also through the impact they had on subsequent generations of photographers. Their commitment to preserving and elevating the industrial landscape through photography transformed the perception of these structures, elevating them to objects of aesthetic contemplation and cultural significance. Today, their photographs are cherished as timeless artifacts that capture the beauty and dignity of the industrial age, ensuring that their legacy will endure for generations to come.
Carolyn Hampton
United States
Alain Laboile
France
1968
I was born on the 1st of May, 1968, in Bordeaux. After an half-hearted schooling, I live of odd jobs until 1990, the year I met Anne. It was the time of my opening to art.I accompanied Anne, student in Art History, to her lectures.It is in the darkness of the crowded amphitheatres that I witnessed heatedly the dissection of the Italian Renaissance artworks. Drawing being my ally since childhood, I can let myself drift into this third dimension by making plaster portaits in a corner of the studio we share. Then came, through a random reading, my fascination for insects. Jean-Henri Fabres's Souvenirs entomologiques will inspire me and accompany me for several years.Plaster and stone slowly fade away to let the rusty iron turn into shaggy insects.On the top of a hill near Bordeaux ,in Gironde, our house fills up with kids.My activity is taking off, and I need to take some photos of my sculptures. That's precisely at that moment, in 2004, that I accidently dive into photography, or more accurately macrophotography, were insects are predominant.Three years later, insects went into hiding under the leaves, my six children are born, and we have left the hill for the stream on the edge of the world. My photo-diary was established without my really noticing, It now seems vital and everlasting. About "La famille" I'm a father of six. Through my photographic work I celebrate and document my family life:A life on the edge of the world, where intemporality and the universality of childhood meet. Day to day I create a family album that constitues a legacy that I will pass on to my children.My work reflects our way of life,revolving around their childhood. My photographs will be the testimony of that. In a way my approach can be considered similar to the one of an ethnologist. Though my work is deeply personal, It's also accessible,addressing human nature and allowing the viewer to enter my world and reflect on their own childhoods. Fed everyday and shared with the world via the internet, my photographic production has became a mean of communication, leading to a questionning about freedom, nudity, being and having. Exclusive Interview with Alain Laboile: All About Photo: When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer?I was working as a sculptor. In 2004 I bought my first camera to photograph my sculptures and my passion for insects drove me to practice macrophotography. After the birth of my last two daughters I raised little by little my lens towards my family. The passion was born and did not leave me any more since 9 years.Where did you study photography?I am totally self-taught. When I began, I had a very limited photographic culture, no technique. I learned by sharing my photos on forums on the web, by receiving critics which allowed me to progress.Do you have a mentor or role model?I met the famous American photographer Jock Sturges during the summer 2012. He became a good friend, a kind of spiritual father who accompanies me in my artistic route. I owe him a lot. Do you remember your first shot? What was it? I think It was a macrophotography showing a mating of slugs. What or who inspires you? My work is extremely personal because it concerns my family life and our little offbeat lifestyle. I try to be inspired by nobody. It is the spectators of my work, that sometimes establish comparisons. Sally Mann’s work is often mentioned. How could you describe your style? An Internet user compared one day my photographic style with street photography. I think that if indeed I lived in town I would practise street photography. But living in the countryside, I photograph my family in its close environment, on the deep. Do you have a favorite photograph or series? I like very much the work of joseph-Philippe Bevillard, His series of portraits of Irish gypsies is fascinating. What kind of gear do you use? Camera, lens, digital, film? I worked for a long time with a Canon 5 D Mark III camera and 35 mm f1,4 lens. I now own a Leica M monochrom which I use with a 35 mm f1,4 Leica lens. Do you spend a lot of time editing your images? For what purpose?I am very selective. I do not hesitate to delete all the photos which do not satisfy me totally. What advice would you give a young photographer?I would say to him that he should not focus on the equipment nor to be intimidated by the lack of technique, all this is secondary. It is necessary to let speak its instinct, accept the criticism. What are your projects?I will publish a book with Steidl Verlag in 2014. An exciting project! Your best memory as a photographer?My publication in the NY times in 2012. I had made several interviews before and I made a lot since but that this has a real symbolic value ! AYour worst souvenir as a photographer?In 2009, I had to stop photography for several months. I needed money and I sold my photographic stuff. A nightmare! The compliment that touched you most?One day Jock Sturges let this comment on one of my photos: "It's wonderful images like this that reinforce my realization that you are my favorite living photographer. Amen " If you were someone else who would it be?I am not certain to want to be somebody else but I would have liked to began to practise photography 20 years earlier. An anecdote?I won a big Canon competition. I left exploring the canopy in the rainforest of kakamega in Kenya. I was accompanied by a crew managed by Peter Webber the director of the movie “Girl with a pearl earring” and “Hannibal Lecter”. We ate spaghetti bolognese together in the middle of the jungle. Fabulous memories a little bit crazy! Anything else you would like to share?I published my first book "Waiting for the postman" in november 2012 . My next exhibition will take place in Santa Monica (California) at dnj Gallery from november 2nd ( 2013) to January 4 th( 2014)
Marie Sueur
France
1979
Born in 1979, Marie Sueur experienced a nomadic childhood. Her sister was born in Chad, her brother in Morocco, and she herself in Cameroon. These multicultural beginnings awakened in her a taste for discovery, encounters, and the unexpected ; nourishing both her imagination and her passion for storytelling. She now lives and works in Paris. Self-taught, Sueur uses photography to explore emotions, the unconscious, and subjects that are, by nature, elusive. Her work does not seek to deliver a strict representation of reality, but rather to suggest what lies beneath the visible : the poetic, the metaphorical, the mysterious. Experimentation is at the heart of her practice, which could be described as that of a “visual artist.” She often feels compelled to introduce physical éléments (embroidery, cardboard, ink…) perhaps as a way of lending greater materiality to works whose very subjects remain intangible. Her photographs have been exhibited in Paris, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, London, and Athens. In 2025, she was named Fine Art Photographer of the Year (non-professional) at the IPA International Photography Awards. She is also a finalist for the QPN Quinzaine Photographique de Nantes and the VIF Vincennes Image Festival Grand Prize. Statement "In a world that watches, analyzes, measures, and controls everything, I am fascinated by what still escapes all forms of control. Among these untamed territories where our instinctive desire for freedom remains unconstrained: the unconscious , a vast continent of ambiguities and vertigo, whispering its truths in the language of symbols and dreams. I wanted to explore this inner space where reason gives way, where the instinctive, the impulsive, the chaotic reclaim their place. These are territories where words falter and images take over. A visual wandering made up of fragments of memory, blurred intuitions, silent revolts , attempts not to grasp a fixed truth, but to capture a vibration, a breath, a fragile light at the heart of our most secret parts. This project is an invitation to feel what within us longs to break free: from imposed limits, from imprisoning gazes, from the frameworks that confine us. Through these sensitive projections, it is perception itself that trembles: what we believe we desire, what we repress, what draws us inward without our knowing. And what if this were the ultimate freedom? A space where nothing is decided, where nothing is controlled. An indomitable place where we stop appearing and simply exist: confused, incoherent, alive." Awarded Photographer of the Week - Week 39, 2025
Bert Hardy
United Kingdom
1913 | † 1995
Bert Hardy was a renowned British photographer known for his powerful and evocative images that captured the essence of postwar Britain. Hardy, born on May 19, 1913, in Blackheath, London, developed an early interest in photography. He began his career as a photojournalist in the 1930s, working for magazines such as Picture Post and Illustrated. During WWII, Hardy worked as an official photographer for the Royal Air Force (RAF), documenting the lives of servicemen and the effects of war. His photographs captured the raw emotions and hardships endured by soldiers, providing a poignant and honest portrayal of the war. I made a point of carrying a contact print of one of the most horrifying of my photographs around with me to show to Germans who didn’t believe that such things had really happened. -- Bert Hardy Hardy continued to work as a photojournalist after the war, covering a wide range of subjects. He rose to prominence as a contributor to Picture Post, a seminal magazine known for its social documentary photography. Hardy's photographs frequently depicted working-class people's lives, providing a compassionate and empathetic perspective on their struggles and aspirations. Hardy's photography was distinguished by his ability to capture fleeting moments of daily life with authenticity and sensitivity. His photographs frequently depicted ordinary people going about their daily lives, but with a profound depth and storytelling quality. Hardy's photographs struck a chord with viewers, providing a rare glimpse into the social, cultural, and political landscape of postwar Britain. Throughout his career, Hardy received numerous accolades and awards for his outstanding contributions to photography. His work has been exhibited internationally and is part of several esteemed collections. Hardy's photographs continue to inspire and influence photographers and artists today, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the world of documentary photography. Bert Hardy passed away on July 3, 1995, but his images remain a testament to his extraordinary talent and his enduring impact on the field of photography.
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Latest Interviews

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Anastasia Samoylova is an American artist whose photographic practice is shaped by close observation and a deep attentiveness to place. Working between documentary and formal exploration, she photographs landscapes, architecture, and everyday scenes with a sensitivity to light, structure, and atmosphere. Since relocating to Miami in 2016, her work has increasingly focused on how environments—both natural and built—carry social, cultural, and emotional traces. We asked her a few questions about her practice and her way of seeing, to better understand the thoughts and experiences that shape her work—while allowing the images themselves to remain open and speak in their own time.
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Marijn Fidder is a Dutch documentary photographer whose work powerfully engages with current affairs and contemporary social issues. Driven by a deep sense of social justice, she uses photography to speak on behalf of the voiceless and to advocate for the rights of those who are most vulnerable. Her images have been widely published in major international outlets including National Geographic, CNN Style, NRC Handelsblad, Volkskrant, GUP New Talent, and ZEIT Magazin. Her long-term commitment to disability rights—particularly through years of work in Uganda—culminated in her acclaimed project Inclusive Nation, which earned her the title of Photographer of the Year 2025 at the All About Photo Awards. She is also the recipient of multiple prestigious honors, including awards from World Press Photo and the Global Peace Photo Award. We asked her a few questions about her life and work.
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