©2024|Roger Weiss

rogerweiss@bluemail.ch

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About




The photographic work of Roger Weiss delves deeply into contemporary Anthropic identity. Weiss, a Swiss photographer, graduated summa cum laude from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Italy, reelaborates human bodies through fragmentations, hybridisations, dilations, and photographic reconstructions, to reveal the archetypal form of the human being.

His work has been exhibited at exhibit spaces and art fairs in Europe and the US including: Ohsh Projects, London (UK), Gallery Sèbastien Lepeuve, Clichy (FR), Snap! Orlando Gallery, Orlando (US), Limonaia di Villa Strozzi, Florence (IT), Museo del Barocco (IT), Gervasuti Foundation, Venice (IT), Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut, Heidelberg (DE), Kulturzentrum Alte Kaserne, Winterthur (CH).
He has several publications in books and leading trade magazines including: The Opéra, Kerber publisher, book (DE), The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's, Josef Weiss Private Press, book (CH), Doppelgänger, Image of the Human Being, Gestalten publisher, book (DE), Schön! Magazine (UK), Carnale Magazine (IT), Digit! Magazine (DE), Blink Magazine (Korea), and interviews including Exibart (IT), ArtsLife (IT), i-D (UK), Dazed (UK), Vogue Italia (IT), RSI (CH), NY ARTS (USA). His collaborations include brands such as Apple, Enterprise Japan, Amina Muaddi and Wolford.
From 2017 to 2020 he was the art director of Collectible DRY magazine.

Portrait   
               
     


Selected Shows



Group Show: Quattrocantesimo
I PALAZZI STORICI AI QUATTRO CANTI RIVIVONO ATTRAVERSO L'ARTE CONTEMPORANEA
Palermo, IT
Curated by Roberto Bilotti Ruggi d'Aragona


Group Show: Ohsh Projects
Liquify
London, UK
co-curated by Jon Baker and OHSH Projects


Art Fair: MIA Milan Image Art Fair
LOOKING AT HER
Paola sosio contemporary art milan, IT
Curated by DOMENICO DE CHIRICO


Group Show: FUMES AND PERFUMES
FUMES AND PERFUMES 9.0
Stuttgart, DE (Catalogue)


Group Show: Gallery SÈBASTIEN LEPEUVE
21
Clichy, FR

Group Show: Museo Regionale della Bonifica di Cà Vendramin
L’energia della creatività
Rovigo, IT
Curated byi Melania Ruggini

Group Show: Limonaia di Villa Strozzi
Diari Urbani
Florence, IT
curated by Chiara Massini

Group Show: Museo del Barocco
LA BELLEZZA SOSPESA TRA VISIONE E REALTà
Noto, IT (catalogue)
curated by Chiara Massini

Art Fair: Photissima Art Fair
Welcome to the jungle!
Torin, IT
Curated by Famiglia Margini gallery Milan, IT


Solo Show: PArCo | Padiglione Arte Contemporanea
Cyclical Time
Casier, IT
Curated by Chiara Massini

Group Show: Gervasuti Foundation
SCREAMING SCREEN
Venice, IT

Solo Show: Association Oltre la Moda, Spazio Luigi Salvioli artist representatives s.r.l. LULÙ
Milan, IT
Curated by Luigi Salvioli

Solo Show: Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut
Sospension
Heidelberg, DE
Curated by Jakob J. Köllhofer

Group Show: Kulturzentrum Alte Kaserne
Start 2
Winterthur, CH

Curated by Iren Tanner




Selected Artwork


  1. Hysteria 
  2. Human Dilatations
  3. Flat Humans
  4. Genealogy of a Body
  5. Survey of Human Map
  6. Intimate Archive
  7. Cyclical Time 
  8. Be Two  
  9. I am Flesh



Selected Interviews


Magazine: Collater.al
LE HUMAN DILATATIONS DI ROGER WEISS
7 July 2023, IT
Text by Giorgia Massari


Blog: Exibart
OTHER IDENTITY #49. ALTRE FORME DI IDENTITÀ CULTURALI E PUBBLICHE: ROGER WEISS
Issue 49, 17 feb. 2023, IT
Interviewer: Francesco Arena


Newspaper: ArtsLife
ROGER WEISS: RIELABORARE IL CORPO ALLA RICERCA DEL SUO ARCHETIPO
the cultural revolution online, 19 Jan. 2023, IT
Interviewer: Rebecca Delmenico


Magazine: Carnale Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 3,  10 pages + a limited edition poster of 100,
size 203x140cm. Sept. 2022, IT
Interview by Lorenzo Ottone


Magazine: SFG Magazine
THERE ARE NO IDEAS THAT ARE NOT CON- NECTED WITH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, DESIRES AND FEARS
12 Feb. 2022, UA
Interviewer: Sergey Gutakovsky
Translation: Angelina Petrova
Editor: Sergey Fomkin


Magazine: Swarm Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
02 Sept. 2021, Prague, Czechia
Interview by Markéta Kosinová


Podcast: SPREAKER Podcast
ROGER WEISS E L’ARTE DEL KINTSUGI
00:12:34, 02 July 2021, IT
by Alessio Bottiroli
On The Nature Of Light
Un podcast di e sulla fotografia


Magazine: I-D
I CORPI DISTORTI ED EMANCIPATI NEGLI SCATTI DI ROGER WEISS PER LA COLLEZI- ONE AMINA MUADDI X WOLFORD
29 July 2021, IT
TEXT by Carolina Davalli


Blog: The Dummy’s Tales
ROGER WEISS, IL CORPO ANARCHICO
08 Feb. 2021, IT
TEXT by Francesca Interlenghi


Magazine: Art Super Magazine
ROGER WEISS: EATING, THE ACT OF CONFIDENCE
Jan. 2018, IT
Interview by Annalisa Scandroglio


Magazine: D’Scene Magazine
THE PERSPECTIVE OF ROGER WEISS
4 pages, Dec, 2017, UK
Interview by Sav Liotta


Magazine: Digit! Magazine
AUSWEITUNG DER KOMFORTZONE
8 pages, Oct/Nov 2016, DE
Interview by Von Peter Schuffelen


Magazine: Hestetika Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
8 pages, Oct. 2016, IT
Interview by Valentina De’ Mathà


Magazine: Dazed
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS EXPLORE NEW PER- SPECTIVES OF FEMALE BEAUTY
26 June 2016, UK
Interview by Ione Gamble


Blog: FotoRoom
HUMAN DILATATIONS: Roger Weiss Creates Mind-Blowing Portraits of Dilated Female Bodies
02 May 2016, IT


Rubrique: Les Blogs DE l’ART HELVÈTIQUE CONTEMPORAIN
UN HOMME EN MOUVEMENT: PORTRAIT DE L’ARTISTE DE THURGOVIE ROGER WEISS
23 July 2015, CH
Interview byJ-Paul Gavard-Perret
Rubrique des arts plastiques et de la littérature en Suisse


Magazine: Vogue Italia
ROGER WEISS
05 April 15, IT
Interview by Alessia Glaviano


TV: RSI, Cult Tv
ROGER WEISS
03 March 2014, CH


Magazine: Ticino Welcome Magazine
VOGLIO SCOPRIRE NUOVI TERRITORI DA ESPLORARE E RACCONTARE
6 pages, Sept/Nov, 2013, CH


Magazine: Blink Magazine
ROGER WEISS
14 pages + Cover, 2012, Korea


Magazine: NY Arts magazine
I AM FLESH
1 page, Summer 2011, NY


Magazine: Twill magazine
35 AN ETHMOGRAPHIC PROJECT
10 pages, June 2010, FR
TEXT by Adriano Zamperini


Magazine: Fotocomputer Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Issue 67, 6 pages, April 2005, IT









Special Projects


  1. Enterprise Japan
  2. Carnale Magazine
  3. Learnn
  4. Apple
  5. Collectible DRY
  6. Cosha
  7. Wolford|Amina Muaddi
  8. Camilla Sparksss
  9. Schön! Magazine




Selected Publications
    


BOOK: Seltmann Publisher
FUMES AND PERFUMES
10 pages, 18 Jan. 2024, DE
Herausgeber / Editors: Frank Bayh & Steff Rosenberger-Ochs, Peter Franck, Bernd Kammerer, Monica Menez und Yves Noir


MAGAZINE: WeAr Magazine
We Are One
Issue 75, 1 page, March 2023. IT
Enterprise Japan FW23 Campaign


BOOK: Dumont Publisher
I SEE VULVAS EVERYWHERE
1 page, 18 July. 2023, DE
By Lisa Frischemeier


Book: Kerber Publisher
THE OPÉRA
10 pages, 14 Nov. 2022, DE
Edited by Matthias Straub Designed by Steffen Knöll Designed by Sven Tillack
Limited anniversary issue of The Opéra – Magazine for Contemporary Nude Photography – including its most famous positions of the past as well as new views on the human body


Magazine: Carnale Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 3,  10 pages + a limited edition poster of 100,
size 203x140cm. Sept, 2022, IT


MAGAZINE: The Opéra Magazine
THE HUG
Volume X, 10 pages, 12 July 2021, DE


Magazine: D’Scene Magazine
THE PERSPECTIVE OF ROGER WEISS
4 pages, Dec, 2017, UK


MAGAZINE: The Opéra Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Volume VI, 8 pages, Oct. 2017, DE


MAGAZINE: Schön Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 33, 10 pages, Oct. 2017, UK


BOOK: Josef Weiss Private Press
THE SONG OF SONGS, WHICH IS SOLOMON’S, 2016, CH


Magazine: Digit! Magazine
AUSWEITUNG DER KOMFORTZONE
8 pages, Oct/Nov 2016, DE


Magazine: Hestetika Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
8 pages, Oct. 2016, IT


Magazine: Ticino Welcome Magazine
VOGLIO SCOPRIRE NUOVI TERRITORI DA ESPLORARE E RACCONTARE
6 pages, Sept/Nov, 2013, CH


Magazine: Blink Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Cover + 14 pages, 2012, Korea


BOOK: Gestalten Publishers
DOPPELGÄNGER, IMAGE OF THE HUMAN BEING
2 pages, Jan. 31, 2011, DE


Magazine: NY Arts magazine
I AM FLESH
1 page, Summer 2011, NY


Magazine: Twill magazine
35 AN ETHMOGRAPHIC PROJECT
10 pages, June 2010, FR
TEXT by Adriano Zamperini


Magazine: Fotocomputer Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Issue 67, 6 pages, April 2005, IT





















2016|FotoRoom

Roger Weiss Creates Mind-Blowing Portraits of Dilated Female Bodies




FotoRoom, 020516, IT




Swiss photographer Roger Weiss shares some background to his incredible Human Dilatations portraits, where the bodies of the photographed women appear dilated and distorted. The effect is reached through a compositing technique inspired by an ancient Japanese art…

Hello Roger, thank you for this interview. What are your main interests as a photographer?
Thank you, it’s my pleasure. At the center of my photographic practice is the female figure: it’s a main source of inspiration for me and shapes my artistic reflections.


Please introduce us to your Human Dilatations series: what is your main intent in creating these images?
I constantly produce figures of women in which I seek my contemporary Totem, an ideal shape, a creation that can contain many elements and distill the essence of things. Human Dilatations originates from this desire. It’s not an art series, but rather the testimony of my daily failures.


How do you think images of distorted female bodies fit the ideas you want to express?
Each image represents a body, some with parts characterized by more or less distorted proportions. The body imposes itself over the head, which is dwarfed to the point of being almost irrelevant. My work is an observation of the modern-day human beings free from two of the things they desire more strongly: physical perfection and the power of the mind. From these premises I approach critically the representation of women in our time and the schema her identity has been reduced to – a set of canons and models that the female individual has to adhere to.


You cite depictions of the female figure dating back to the stone age as a primary inspiration. How exactly did these help you conceive the Human Dilatationsimages?
The ideal representation of women embodied by some primitive artifacts clearly feature symbols that denote the fragility of life and mankind’s constant march towards progress. Human Dilations embraces these aspects and contrasts the “logic civilization” that has led to the loss of the “human civilization”: in the name of a greater order, we forgot about who we are, the least absolute and definitive beings of the planet.


Can you describe the elaborate composition technique you use to create your images, and how long does it typically take to finish one?
My technique is inspired by kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer. I recently made a video that shows the construction of one of my Monolith images: I obtained it by assembling 268 fragments of photographs of the same subject taken at different perspectives. It took 14 hours to complete.


For many of your images you create short videos that “delve” into the pictures to show details of the photographed bodies. Why do you think it’s important to focus on these details?
Suppose I’m observing a real body: I could get closer to it to explore it in detail. My vision of the whole would then be replaced by my perception of its particulars, thus triggering a complex analytical process. I intend to make this a possibility in my photographic practice as well, and at the same time I want to initiate a perpetual motion through which I break into fragments, decompose and reassemble what I observe, obsessed by the details that nurture this endless cycle. For me, details show what we would be inclined to hide due to our culture.


How do you reconcile your work as a fashion photographer with your personal projects, which subvert the stereotypes of fashion photography?
In the same way that I reconcile watching a film by Andrej Tarkovskij and one by Quentin Tarantino: they’re both products of our culture that acquire value in different moments of my existence.


Your latest body of work My Beautiful Broken Women also uses images of dilatated female bodies. What is different in this series from Human Dilatations?
The idea for My Beautiful Broken Women came to me while working on my monolith series. I wanted to show those beautiful faces I had concealed in Human Dilatations. Beside the faces, I focused my attention on the silent marks’ of the models’ lives through specific symbols: a scratch, a puppet snake, a compass, a pin, etc.


How do you hope viewers react to your work?
I hope to arouse their curiosity for new point of views over pre-determined answers.


What have been the main influences on your photography?
Desire.


Who are some of your favorite contemporary photographers?
The Bechers and the Düsseldorf School photographers, Karl Blossfeldt, Wolfgang Tillmans and many others.


Choose your #threewordsforphotography.
Women. Monolith. Space.