Damion Berger‘s artistic practice operates between abstraction and conceptualism. Taking an unorthodox approach to traditional photographic process, his work often employs long-exposure and in-camera techniques to make photographic ‘recordings’ that probe the nature and conventions of photography. His Black Powder and Vessel series; photographs of worldly events memorialized with pyrotechnics and all-night-long exposures of yachts drifting around their anchor, are ‘experiments’ in mark-making – quite literally painting with light, and explore the relationship between space, time, and motion. Berger’s methodology flips Henri Cartier-Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’ on its head by making a single photograph over an extended period of many hours, rather than hundredths of a second. Referencing the arc of photography’s technological evolution, the resulting exposures are printed in the negative as a facsimile of the original processed sheet of film. 
 
Often mistaken for charcoal, graphite or Indian-ink drawings, Damion Berger’s images are innately photographic, but transcend categorization to engage in dialogue across broad artistic traditions. Like many significant artists, Damion Berger’s photographs pose more questions than they answer, yet ultimately they challenge our perception of time and space by revealing an otherwise invisible architecture.
 
Born in London (1978), he lives and works in New York and France. He holds a B.F.A. from Parsons The New School of Design in New York and formerly worked as an assistant to the influential fashion photographer Helmut Newton. His photographs are in major private and corporate collections worldwide.

 

 

CV

Education

  1. BFA, Parsons The New School for Design, New York

Solo Exhibitions

  1. Vessels, Monte Carlo Yacht Club, Monaco
  2. Black Powder, Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale AZ
  3. In the Deep End, Jane’s Gallery & To b. Art Gallery, The Eden Rock, St Barthélemy, FWI
  4. In the Deep End, Art & Rapy Contemporary, Monaco

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

  1. Beyond Boundaries, discoveries in Contemporary Photography, Aperture Gallery, New York
  2. SPF16: NYC Pools and Beaches in Contemporary Photography, Arsenal Gallery, New York
  3. Fire & Water, Galleria Il Castello, Milan, Italy
  4. Vignettes, Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
  5. 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
  6. Modern Alchemy: Experimentation in Photography, The Hecksher Museum of Art, New York
  7. Hello Midtown!, Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
  8. AIPAD Photography Fair – solo presentation, Lisa Sette Gallery, Park Avenue Armory, New York
  9. Dark Blue: Water as Protagonist, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI
  10. Pools of Light, Oxenberg Fine Arts, Miami, FL
  11. Fotofest 2012’s Discoveries of the Meeting Place, University Art Museum, Colorado State
  12. Art Miami, Lisa Sette Gallery, Miami FL
  13. 10 Discoveries – selected by John Rohrback, Amon Carter Museum, Fotofest 2012, Houston
  14. New Visions, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
  15. The Curve: Center’s Award Recipients, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA
  16. Hot Fun In The Summertime, Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York, NY
  17. ‘Damion Berger, Donald Bachelor, Jan Van Naeltjwick’, Art & Rapy Contemporary, Monaco
  18. PX3, Prix de la Photographie Exhibition, Espace Dupon, Paris, France
  19. Flash Forward ’08, Galerie Art Mur, Montreal, Canada
  20. Flash Forward ’08 Griffin Photography Museum, Boston, MA
  21. Flash Forward ’08 Lennox Contemporary Gallery, Toronto, Canada
  22. Flash Forward ’08, Kathleen Cullen Fine Art, New York, NY
  23. H2O, To b. Art Gallery, St Barthélemy, French West Indies
  24. New Pictures, Art & Rapy Contemporary, Monaco

 

Selected Awards

  1. LensCulture Photography Awards 2018 – Juror’s Pick, selected by Ihiro Hayami
  2. Discoveries of The Meeting Place – selected by John Rorhback, Amon Carter Museum, Fotofest, Houston
  3. Best Books of the Year: In The Deep End, Photo District News
  4. PX3, Prix de la Photographie
  5. CENTER Project Competition
  6. The Flash Forward Book Award

 

Publications

  1. Black Powder, Damion Berger, Hardcover, 72 pages, Edition of 250, Grey Alchemy
  2. Vessels, Damion Berger, Hardcover, 56 pages, Edition of 250, Grey Alchemy
  3. #No Filter, Natalia Price-Cabrera, Lawrence King Publishing, UK
  4. The Best of LensCulture Volume 3, Paperback 288 pages, Lens Culture / Schilt Publishing b.v.
  5. Flash Forward Tenth – 10 years of Flash Forward, Magenta Foundation, Canada
  6. Pools: Reflections – Kelly Klein, Hardcover, 240 pages, Rizzoli
  7. In The Deep End – Damion Berger, Hardcover, 38 Tritone Plates, Schilt, Amsterdam
  8. AP26 – American Photography 26, Hardcover, AP-AI, New York
  9. Px3 Book No.3. ‘2009 Award Recipients’, Prix de la Photographie, Paris
  10. Flash Forward ‘08, ‘Emerging Photographers from Canada, USA & UK’, Magenta Foundation, Canada

 

Selected Press

  1. Así de Alucinantes son los fuegos artificiales en blanco y negro, Quo Magazine (Spain), Vincente Fernández Lopez, July 6, 2017
  2. Black Powder – Damion Berger, Stitch Magazine, Ana Belén,, October 17, 2016
  3. Soaking up New York City’s pools & beaches,The New Yorker, Max Campbell, July 1, 2016
  4. The Most Stunning Photos Of Fireworks Don’t Have A Lick Of Color, Wired Magazine, Laura Mallonee, July 4, 2016
  5. In Huntington, an Exhibition of Pioneering Photography Through the Ages, New York Times, Jane L. Levere, February 13, 2015
  6. Introducing: Damion Berger “In The Deep End”, Aserica Magazine, Lu JiaYing, December 7, 2014
  7. Experiments in photography push the envelope and reference the classics at Heckscher, LI Pulse, Drew Moss, November 21, 2014
  8. Art in review: AIPAD Photography Show, New York Times, Ken Johnson, April 4, 2013
  9. AIPAD Photography Show: Top Ten, Art in America, Tracy Zwick, April 5, 2013
  10. Contemporary Photographers Stand Out at NY’s Aipad Fair, Blouin ARTINFO, Lori Fredrickson, April 05, 2013
  11. Dawning of a New Age of Digital Photography at AIPAD Show, NY Arts, Louise Levathes, April 16, 2013
  12. Aipad 2013 at the Armory, Design Arts Daily, Peggy Roalf, April 4, 2013
  13. Intriguing art with social commentary at Art Miami, Artsy Editorial, December 2013
  14. Damion Berger, Jill Greenberg, Erwin Olaf, Stephen Wilkes… FotoMAGAZIN ‘Portfolio Issue’, No.2
  15. Reasons to love New York – ‘Because we screw in Public’ New York Magazine
  16. Winners of the 5th Annual Spider Awards, The Photo Paper
  17. Esteemed image makers name their favourites, American Photo, Jack Crager, May 2010
  18. Backstory: Damion Berger goes below the surface, Popular Photography, Lori Fredrickson,
    February 2010
  19. Ventiquatro Magazine, Il Sole 24, September 4, 2009
  20. Bomblog: Damion Berger, Bomb Magazine, Alec Quig, July 27, 2009
  21. Q & A with Damion Berger, Photo District News, Amber Terranova, June 18, 2009
  22. In The Deep End, NPR The Picture Show, Claire O’Neill, June 11, 2009
  23. The Rage Of The Rich, New York Magazine, April 27, 2009
  24. The Getaway Plan, New York Magazine, April 6, 2009
  25. Tomorrow’s People, British Journal of Photography, May 28, 2008
  26. Review: In The Deep End at the Eden Rock,St Barths, Mic Magazine, August 2007
  27. Special Art: L’Art coup de Coeur, Cote Magazine, June 2007
  28. Interview: ‘In The Deep End’ a la galerie Art & Rapy, Cote Magazine, May 2006
  29. Spotlight: Damion Berger, B&W Magazine, Issue 31, June 2004
  30. R.S.V.P: An Invitation into Damion Berger’s World, PDN Photo District News, Jacqueline Tobin
  31. Rien ne va plus, is Damion Berger a master in the making?, Hotshoe, Melissa De Witt

 

Videos & Interviews

  1. Magenta Television (2:52), Damion Berger: Flash Forward ’08, Lennox Contemporary Gallery, Toronto, Canada
  2. Monte Carlo 1 (10:00), Damion Berger: In The Deep End, Art & Rapy Contemporary, Monaco