IWAN BAAN CVPRESS

Born 1975 in Alkmaar, Netherlands

Lives and works in Amsterdam and Internationally

Iwan Baan’s visionary understanding of human life and human habitation stretches beyond the limitations of mere photographic reproduction of architecture. Baan creates his images on the edge of a new understanding and representation of humanity; humanity engaged in the practice of the occupation of space; dwelling as an existential ritual, residing within self-created enclosures, both limiting and empowering, dominating and dominated.

I am interested in buildings and the urban environment but there is also a lot of fragility in my images. I am interested in how fragile we are. Things can disappear in a moment.” ~ Iwan Baan

The tension between the creator and the creation is alive and dramatic in every one of Baan’s inspired images. Architectural spaces persistently dialog with its indwellers, vying for control. After all, to occupy not only means to inhabit, but also to conquer and subjugate. In Baan’s work, this tension is the core drama of the interplay of space and user. Titans of colossal scale swallow their visitors; constructed space is captured in the very act of seeking to devour its inhabitants. But Baan never loses sight of the humanity within and the power of the seemingly small and fragile; the poetry of life lived on a human scale, life as power greater than space.

The work of Iwan Baan explores the human striving of shelter, community and communication within with an intimate and unique view of the human condition in the act of occupying space. Perry Rubenstein Gallery is excited to bring our first exhibition of Iwan Baan’s work to Los Angeles.