About — Wouter le Duc

Wouter le Duc (1989) is a Dutch portrait photographer who finds his passion in capturing the subtle intricacies of his subjects' inner worlds, revealing the depth of his sitters that often goes unnoticed in the rush of daily life. His style is characterised by a serene quality, a soft colour palette and the use of analogue photography combined with daylight. Focusing on refined craftsmanship and creating new perceptions through light, he defines himself as a contemporary classicist.

Le Duc combines his love of people with the clair obscure of the Italians, the soft daylight of the Dutch and the stillness of the Scandinavian naturalists. His photographic process unfolds in the quiet corners of indoor spaces, patiently watching the light sneak in through the windows, constantly redefining the ambience of a space, a process he loves to observe. His love for people becomes visible through the intimate settings in which he takes the sitter's portrait. Often with a modest and pensive attitude and the absence of inessential details. As a keen observer, his eye is fixed on seeing the potential a space and the light have to offer. He constantly pushes himself to see more than the sum of the parts through his lens.

He is influenced by painters such as Vilhelm Hammershøi and Johannes Vermeer because of the way they created a tradition of restrained realism, using light to materialise silence. Coupled with the unsettling realism of director Roy Anderson and painter Andrew Wyeth, it reveals some of the width of Le Duc's sources of inspiration.

In 2014 he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. His work has been included in exhibitions worldwide, including the Copenhagen Photo Festival in Denmark, Photo Kathmandu in Nepal, the Benetton Foundation in Italy, the Northern Photographic Centre in Finland and the Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition in the UK. In 2022 he won both the jury and public award of the Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize of the Dutch National Portrait Gallery.

Personal

Born 1989, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Based in Utrecht, The Netherlands

Education
2010-2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, NL
2013 Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, CA
2013 Internship Rob Hornstra
2016 - 2020 Assisting Inga Powilleit
2018 - 2020 Assisting Koos Breukel

Selected clients

VPRO Gids

De Volkskrant

NRC Handelsblad

NRC Next

Het Parool

De Standaard

De Correspondent

Top Notch

Nationaal Jeugd Orkest

Amnesty International

Pauline van Dongen

Uitgeverij De Bezige Bij

Uitgeverij De Arbeiderspers

Uitgeverij Atlas Contact

Advocatenblad

ArtEZ

Nederlands Letterenfonds

Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau

Hogeschool Rotterdam

DuPho

Art.1 Midden Nederland

Young Swiss Magazine

Hollandse Hoogte

CCCP

De kracht van Rotterdam

Dim Dam Dom Magazine

Nederlands Film Festival

Lira Fonds

Helden Magazine

Vakblad C

Groninger Museum

Exhibitions

2023 | Dutch National Portrait Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
2023 | Buy my darlings, Amsterdam, NL
2023 | Ballon Rouge, Rotterdam, NL
2022 | Depot Boijmans van Beuningen, Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize by Dutch National Portrait Gallery
2020 | British Journal of Photography, Sent into space, space
2019 | Rabobank Dutch Photographic Portrait Prize, Utrecht, NL
2018 | ‘Join the dots’ Imago Mundi Art, Salone degli Incanti, Trieste, IT
2018 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, Art at the Heart of the RUH, Bath, UK
2018 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, The Civic, Barnsley, UK
2018 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk, UK
2018 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, UK
2018 | ZERP Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2017 | OBA De Hallen, Amsterdam, NL
2017 | The Northern Photographic Centre, Oulo, FIN
2017 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, PHOTOBLOCK, London, UK
2017 | ZERP Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2017 | De Balie, Amsterdam, NL
2017 | Benetton Foundation, Treviso, IT
2017 | Rotterdam Photo, Rotterdam, NL
2015 | Photo Kathmandu, Kathmandu, NP
2015 |Day / Night / Day, Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2015 | Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, DK
2015 | De Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL
2015 | EKKO, Utrecht, NL
2015 | Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL
2014 | Salon Zerp, Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2014 | PAN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL
2014 | De Kracht van Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NL
2014 | Graduation show Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, NL
2013 | Leo Koo Gallery, Vancouver, CA
2013 | Young Talents Exhibition, Rotterdam, NL
2013 | AMFI Fashion Transit, Amsterdam, NL
2013 | De Aanschouw, Rotterdam, NL

Grants & Awards

2023 | Portrait of Humanity by British Journal of Photography, shortlist
2022 | Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize, winner jury prize & public prize
2022 | Portrait of Humanity by British Journal of Photography, shortlist
2021 | Dutch National Photographic Portrait Prize, longlist
2021 | Matchingfonds, granted
2020 | Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize, longlist
2020 | Portrait of Humanity by British Journal of Photography, shortlist
2019 | Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize, longlist
2018 | Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize, shortlist
2017 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, nominated
2017 | Forbes 30 under 30, nominated
2016 | Research & Development Grant - Centre for Visual Arts Rotterdam, granted
2016 | Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition, shortlist
2015 | Henri Winkelman Award, shortlist
2014 | De Drempelprijs - shortlist

Collections

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Rabo Art Collection
Benetton Collection
Private collections

Selected press