Claudio Rasano
The captivating beauty of Claudio Rasano’s analogue medium-format photographs lies in the natural lighting and the unpretentious visual language. Whether people, buildings, or landscapes, what always resonates in them is the finite nature of existence, a beguiling melancholy. Scenes that call to mind Edward Hopper: human beings are grains of sand in time. Though influenced formally by David Goldblatt, Rasano’s work is never politically motivated.
In 2016, he was awarded the renowned Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London. His works have been shown around the world, including at the Kunsthalle Basel, the Les Rencontres d’Arles, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney, the PHotoEspaña in Madrid, and the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Rasano is represented in the Roche Art Collection in Basel, the Christoph Merian Foundation in Basel, the London Photographic Association, and the Museum of African Design in Johannesburg.
1970 born in Basel, Switzerland
Solo Exhibitions
2022
"Endlichkeit der Tiefe", König Büro, Zurich, Switzerland
2019
"C 41", Galerie Monika Wertheimer, Oberwil, Switzerland
2017
"Hier und Jetzt", Predigerkirche, Basel, Switzerland
2014
"I Might be in Love With You", Oslo8 Contemporary Photography, Basel, Schweiz
Group Exhibitions
2018
- "A Tooth for an Eye", Regionale 19, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- "Art on a Postcard", Photolondon, London, England
2017
"Photo Vogue Portraits", Leica Gallery, Milano, Italy
2016
"The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize", National Portrait Gallery, London, England*
2015
- "Portrait Salon", Embassy Tea Gallery, London, England / Tokyo, Japan*
- "N_10 - FOG: Excerpts", Bohai Galerie, Hannover, Germany
- "Magazinpräsentation FOG Magazin", Berlin, Germany*
- "Scarcity-Waste. Syngenta Photography Award", Somerset House, London, England / Centro Cultural de São Paulo, Brasil / Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, Brasilien / Expo Milano, Milan, Italy*
- "Curate Life Collection Competition", Museum of African Design, Johannesburg, South Africa
- "Lens Culture Exposure Awards 15", Photo London, London, England*
2014
- Oslo8 Contemporary Photography Basel, Photobastei, Zurich, Switzerland
- Cheltenham Art Gallery, Gloucestershire, England
- Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Scottland
2013
- "The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize", National Portrait Gallery, London, England*
- "Going Places. Reise ins Anderswo", iaab Basement, Basel, Switzerland*
2011
- "The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize", National Portrait Gallery, London, England*
- Fotolabor Pascale Brügger, Kunstfreilager Dreispitz, Basel, Switzerland
- "Photobook Days", Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
2010
- Gallery 1839, London, England
- Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington, Australia
2009
- "Portfoliowalk", Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
- Obscura Gallery St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia
2008
- Photoforum Pasquart, Biel, Switzerland
- Frontstore, Basel, Switzerland
- PhotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain*
- London Photographic Association, London, England
2007
- "11. vfg Nachwuchsförderpreis", Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel, Switzerland
- Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, Stiftung Binz 39, Zurich, Switzerland
- "Passages", iaab choices, M54, Basel, Switzerland
- "Ernte 06", Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz, Switzerland
2006
- "Regionale7", Kunsthalle Palazzo, Liestal, Switzerland
- "Regionale7", Musée des Beaux-Arts de Mulhouse, France
Awards and Grants
2016
The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London, England
2012
Iaab Studio Residency in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa
2009
Iaab Studio Residency in Fremantle, Australia
2006
Iaab Studio Residency in Tiflis, Georgia
Collections
- Museum of African Design, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel, Switzerland
- London Photographic Association, England
- kulturelles.bl, Kanton Basel Landschaft, Switzerland
- Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel, Switzerland
- Private Collections
Publications
* with catalogue
Published Works (print and online)
2016
- Guest Blog April, Der Greif – Magazine for Photography & Literature
- iGNANT
- Incandescent - A Color Film Zine
- Steadfast Arte
- GUP Magazine
2015
- Prism Photo Magazine
- Fotografia Magazine
- Dodho Magazine
- doc! Photo Magazine #32
- Witty Magazine
- The South African
- Der Greif
- Made in Shoreditch Magazine
- L’Oeil de la Photographie
- GUP Magazine
- Wonderzine Magazine
- Click Magazine
- GEO Russia Magazine
2014
Kunstbulletin
2010
- Photographer's Forum Magazine, Best of Photography 2010
- The Photo Paper Photography Masters Cup Winners
2009
- World Photographic Arts Magazine
- American Photo
- Photographer's Forum Magazine, Best of Photography 2009
Nominations
2017
LensCulture Portrait Awards, Finalist
2015
- Bieler Fototage
- Leica Oskar Barnack Preis, Finalist
- Photography Masters Cup, Portrait
2014
Photography Masters Cup, Portrait
2013
- Photography Masters Cup, Architecture
- Photography Masters Cup, Portrait
2011
Hasselblad Masters, Portrait
2010
- Photography Masters
- International Photography Awards IPA
- European Publishers Award for Photography
- Photographer's Forum Magazine
2009
- American Photo Images of the Year, Portraiture
- PX3
- Head On 2009
- Photographer's Forum Magazine, Best of Photography 2009
- Photography Masters Cup, Color Award
2008
- American Photo Images of the Year
- The 2008 International Aperture Awards
- Photo España 2008, Descubrimientos PHE08
- London Photographic Association, Bronze Series
- PX3
- International Photography awards IPA


















