Premio Combat Prize

Roland Behrmann’s artwork infuses a documentary style with lyricism
to create photographs of breathtaking grace. By his own admission,
Behrmann does not show the “spectacular and provocative” but rather
ordinary, communal sights that make up public experience. He photographs
the icons of the urban, like train tunnels and building facades, but also the
out of the way and even the hidden such as rock outcroppings covered in
seagulls, tiny pastoral graveyards, and other places where the viewer acts
as a lone observer. The artist takes us everywhere, acting as our quiet and
perceptive guide.
Behrmann is showing us his Germany, where objects and scenes speak of
people’s lives and where the terrain is as varied as the history. He shoots
in black-and-white with an extensive range of depth to show layers of
story. He has an eye for geometry, barriers, contrasts, and interaction, all
visually played out in shadows and transparencies. Each photo is filled
with the jangling rhythm of many moving parts.
Roland Behrmann was born in Dessau (then a part of East Germany) and
endured time as a political prisoner before reaching West Germany. Now
living in Mannheim, he has exhibited in Italy, France, Austria, United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and his home country.