Bas Princen
Before transitioning to photography, Dutch artist Bas Princen studied architecture and product design. Today, his photographs are not only informed by architecture but also by an awareness of human relationships to both built and natural environments. Princen has also been known to reference scientific measuring systems, mapping, and amateur anthropology in his work, and his artistic practice has involved plotting ecological changes—water currents, wind patterns, and soil erosion, as well as the impacts of urban developments on the Dutch landscape.
In his 2004 photo Artificial Sand Dune, from his Artificial Arcadia series, Princen pictures a manmade dune along the Dutch coast where birds are often stranded during their annual migrations. Birdwatchers, alerted via text messages, often travel to the dune to assist the stuck birds; Princen’s documentation of this phenomenon consequently illuminates how human technology can both hinder and aid animals.
Princen was the recipient of the 2010 Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, the Prix de Rome Architecture in 2006, and the 2004 Award for Promising Young Artists and Architects from the Prins Bernard Culture Fund. His work can be found in public collections worldwide, including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Rijksmuseum in …
Before transitioning to photography, Dutch artist Bas Princen studied architecture and product design. Today, his photographs are not only informed by architecture but also by an awareness of human relationships to both built and natural environments. Princen has also been known to reference scientific measuring systems, mapping, and amateur anthropology in his work, and his artistic practice has involved plotting ecological changes—water currents, wind patterns, and soil erosion, as well as the impacts of urban developments on the Dutch landscape.
In his 2004 photo Artificial Sand Dune, from his Artificial Arcadia series, Princen pictures a manmade dune along the Dutch coast where birds are often stranded during their annual migrations. Birdwatchers, alerted via text messages, often travel to the dune to assist the stuck birds; Princen’s documentation of this phenomenon consequently illuminates how human technology can both hinder and aid animals.
Princen was the recipient of the 2010 Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, the Prix de Rome Architecture in 2006, and the 2004 Award for Promising Young Artists and Architects from the Prins Bernard Culture Fund. His work can be found in public collections worldwide, including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and The Hague’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Princen’s work has also been shown in solo exhibitions at the Netherlands Architecture Institute, the National Gallery in Amman, Jordan, and the Institut Néerlandais in Paris, among many others.
