Photographs are there to transport us to remote places and as an art expression, they capture moments for future generations. On the other hand, abstract photography is about the reality distortion to make art out of common things. Recent technology improvements have made this a very prolific field. On our collection of the top 10 most creative and best abstract photographers in the world, we will show you how simple tips transform and evolve to become art.
10 Thomas Ruff
Thomas Ruff is well known for his nudes in blurry pictures. This work is the result of pornographic images found on the Internet and distorted to make them unclearly familiar. These pictures resemble movement as well and turned some illicit images into art by transforming their essences. Ruff is a German photographer and has been active since the early 80s, with a wide variety of techniques using a mixture of digital and analogue technologies.
9 Adam Fuss
This picture resembles one of Fuss’ most recurrent topics: death. On this particular image, he uses the same scenario for his snake’s job to place a woman covered entirely in black, as a tridimensional shadow floating over on this fluffy mattress bed. Shadows and reflects on the woman’s body make her seem alive and death at the same time. Her open eyes contrast perfectly with their white gleams. Adam Fuss has been present in the most galleries, and his last solo exhibit was held in 2015 at the MET from New York.
The German-born artist Wolfgang Tillmans can transform a simple paper into something outstanding. Part of the Andrea Rosen Gallery collection, this is a perfect example of his work which makes extraordinary things out of simple ones. He currently works in London and Berlin and has published for magazines like Prinz, Spex, i-D and Tempo.
Inspired by Parkinson, Alan Babbitt hasn’t stopped his career as a photographer. He evolved into showing us how it is like to move all the time. On his Movement Disorder Collection, he has shown us some of the most amazing landscapes, just shaking, to provoke sensations of joy and a different vision of the world. As he sees it, the gift of Parkinson has helped him to develop an innovative technique to produce some unusual, yet admirable shots. Since 1975 he has been part of countless exhibitions. Un-Still photography was first shown in 2009, in San Francisco, and continued an itinerant journey across the United States.
6 Aaron Siskind
Aaron Siskind is native from New York City. His born town has inspired most of his work. On this example, he resembles a how a traditional store in Harlem is seen from the outside. Siskind mastery lets us see the colours through the black and white tones printed on this picture. This is part of Siskind’s efforts to fight against social inequalities in modern society. By joining the Film and Photo League in New York, he had a good chance to promote his work and foster a better world.
Ernest Hass observed the reflections on this 70s building, transforming it into an ageless shot. Taking advantage of daylight and the window’s deflection he turned a simple landscape into a work of art. As part of the America Classic Color Collection, this is a perfect example of how he has taken hundreds of pictures across the United States to turn the extraordinary landscapes into magnificent pictures. Hass’ work has been presented in galleries around the world, including the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York; M+B Photo and the Photographers Gallery in Los Angeles; Les Douches La Galerie in Paris, France; Ingrid Deuss Gallery in Belgium; and the Atlas Gallery in London.
Tony Sweet has frozen time on his Cuba Collection. Full of colours and transmitting the spirit of a place that remains unchanged resisting to age, yet old as years go by. The cobbled streets captured by Sweet’s camera resemble cities of 100 years ago. He mastered the art to show us every single detail, from the scratch on the automobile defence to the weathered paint on the walls. These landscapes don’t cease to inspire creativity. Not only streets but churches, neighbourhoods and people are part of what Sweet has shared with us on this collection.
Carli Hermès uses the human body as means of expression. Desire is the main emotion exploded by Hermès mixing fantasy and reality with a superb explosion of sensuality and erotica. Hermès is well known by preparing remarkable campaigns for Mexx, G-Star and SuitSupply where this photo was extracted from. He also is recognised for his independent work which has been exhibited in galleries such as the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, Rademakers Gallery, the Arnhem Museum the Groninger Museum and the Kunsthal in Rotterdam.
Theatres is the exhibition of abandoned theatres Hiroshi Suigimoto collected between 2014 and 2015. Tough it seems a simple job, the art of using the theatre’s screen to reflect light and show us the place is the reason why these photos are capable of transporting us to the best days of these sites when they were crowded with people who had gathered to watch the latest film. We can almost see faded scenes across Sugimoto’s lenses because he used a technique that had the camera’s shutter open through an entire film projection.
This photo is part of the Times Square exhibition held at the Howard Greenberg South Gallery. On this job, William Klein captured through black and white the essence of the night in this cosmopolitan city, highlighting the street glamour and sensitivity of such an important worldwide capital. This photo is shown side by side of other artists, such as Peter Seaker, Berenice Abbott and Alfred Eisenstaedt.