Iwan Baan
Iwan Baan
21.10.2023 bis 03.03.2024
Weil am Rhein, Vitra Design Museum
Moments in Architecture
Iwan Baan is one of today’s leading photographers of architecture and the built environment. His images document the growth of global megacities, explore traditional and informal housing structures, and portray buildings by prominent contemporary architects including Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Kazuyo Sejima, and Tatiana Bilbao. This first major retrospective will present a vast selection of highlights from the Dutch photographer’s oeuvre.
The rise of digital media over the past thirty years has fundamentally changed the world of photography and architecture. No other photographer has shaped these developments as emphatically as Iwan Baan. Baan’s photography is quick, precise, and crisp – and it can be deeply human and poetic. He knows how to make a building look great, but he also captures the moments when architecture comes alive, when plans are made, when workers rest, when people move in or out.
The exhibition includes a variety of Baan’s iconic works, many of which are familiar from magazines and books, as well as photographs of traditional and informal architecture from all around the world, from the round Tulou of southern China to the rock-hewn churches of Ethiopia. In its multimedia presentation, including print and digital formats, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey through Baan’s rich scope of work from the last two decades, depicting his observations of the manifold manifestations of human ingenuity around the globe.
Iwan Baan is one of today’s leading photographers of architecture and the built environment. His images document the growth of global megacities, explore traditional and informal housing structures, and portray buildings by prominent contemporary architects including Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Kazuyo Sejima, and Tatiana Bilbao. This first major retrospective will present a vast selection of highlights from the Dutch photographer’s oeuvre.
The rise of digital media over the past thirty years has fundamentally changed the world of photography and architecture. No other photographer has shaped these developments as emphatically as Iwan Baan. Baan’s photography is quick, precise, and crisp – and it can be deeply human and poetic. He knows how to make a building look great, but he also captures the moments when architecture comes alive, when plans are made, when workers rest, when people move in or out.
The exhibition includes a variety of Baan’s iconic works, many of which are familiar from magazines and books, as well as photographs of traditional and informal architecture from all around the world, from the round Tulou of southern China to the rock-hewn churches of Ethiopia. In its multimedia presentation, including print and digital formats, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey through Baan’s rich scope of work from the last two decades, depicting his observations of the manifold manifestations of human ingenuity around the globe.