Viviane Sassen


Viviane Sassen is a Dutch artist living in Amsterdam. She is a photographer who works in both the fashion and fine art world. She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. She has been widely published and exhibited. She was included in the 2011 New Photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. She has created campaigns for Miu Miu, Stella McCartney, and Louis Vuitton, among others. She has won the Dutch Prix de Rome and the Infinity Award from International Center of Photography.
WWW vivianesassen.com

Life and work

Sassen lived in Kenya as a child and often works in Africa. She started studying fashion at Arnhem, but soon turned to photography. She received her MFA from Royal Academy in Arnhem.
She is of the generation of photographer/artists that alternate personal, editorial, and commercial work and embrace an interdisciplinary attitude. She says, "You should always be able to judge a photograph on different grounds, on political, social, emotional, but also on personal grounds."
She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. The photographed bodies are often intertwined, inspired by daily physical contact with strangers she experienced in Africa. Conscious of the stereotypical images of famine and poverty, she includes contemporary elements abundant in Africa like cell phones and automobiles.
Sassen was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2015 for her exhibition Umbra at Nederlands Fotomuseum.
For several advertising campaigns, Sassen worked with fashion label 3.1 Phillip Lim. Commissioned by Italian luxury goods manufacturer Bottega Veneta, she photographed Mica Argañaraz and Sven de Vries at the Kröller-Müller Museum for the brand's spring/summer 2016 advertisements. Working on other campaigns, she later photographed Langley Fox at Villa Noailles for Lancel as well as Natalie Portman and Yara Shahidi for Dior, among others.

Publications

  • Flamboya. Contrasto, 2008,.
  • Sketches: Polaroids of Africa. Kominek, 2010.
  • Parasomnia. Munich: Prestel, 2011,.
  • Die Son Sien Alles. Libraryman, 2011..
  • Roxane. London and Paris: Oodee, 2012..
  • In and Out of Fashion. Munich: Prestel, 2012..
  • Etan&Me. London and Paris: Odee, 2013..
  • Lexicon. Tokyo: Art Beat, 2014.. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • Pikin Slee. Munich: Prestel, 2014.. About the village Pikin Slee.
  • Umbra. Munich: Prestel, 2015.. Reprint edition.
  • Roxane II. London and Paris: Odee, 2017.. Edition of 1000 copies. With a poem by Maria Barnas.
  • Of Mud And Lotus. Tokyo: Art Beat, 2017.. Edited by Shigeo Goto and Sawako Fukai. Edition of 1000 copies.
  • Hot Mirror. Munich: Prestel, 2018..

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Exhibitions with others

Awards