Jens Juul
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
About
1st Prize winner of the BBA Photography Prize 2021, Jens Juul is a street photographer based in Copenhagen whose black and white photographs of anonymous strangers portray the human condition at its most vulnerable point of truth.Trained as a painter at Billedskolen in Copenhagen as well as being trained as a portrait painter by the Spanish artist Artero Wiismundo, Juul transitioned from painting to pursue formal photographic training at Copenhagen’s Technical College where he graduated from in 2012.
For Jens Juul, the camera and his range of technical skills are a means to capture the essence of human psychology and collate a collective visual statement of human instances. Blunt, almost savage, in their revelations and vulnerability, Juul’s images blur the lines between documentary, environmental portraiture, and fine art references. At times unforgiving, neither detail nor feeling escapes the lens of Juul’s camera to capture the core self of the individual.
“Making a good portrait is not about having the right equipment; it’s about having the right attitude. It’s 98% psychology and 2% artistic skills. What makes me able to take the pictures that I do is not so much the equipment I bring, but my ability – and desire! – to speak, ask questions, and do a lot of listening.”
Education
2012
Copenhagen's Technical College, Copenhagen, Denmark
Exhibition (Selection)
2023
Six Degrees of Copenhagen, Solo Show, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2022
Roskilde festival – Moments, Group Show, Gallery Rocks, Denmark
2021
BBA Photography Prize 2021, Group Show, BBA Gallery, Kühlhaus Berlin, Germany
Fototeca Siracusa, Group Show, Center for Photography, Italy
Off Stage, Group Show, Kunstcentret Silkeborg Bad, Denmark
2019
STATUS 19, Group Show, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
Six Degrees of Copenhagen, Solo Show, Foto Art Festival, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
HAIR, Solo Show, Leica, Copenhagen, Denmark
Home-land, Group Show, Galerie Sehnsucht, Netherlands
Photography Festival Bialystok, Group Show, Poland
Porto Photo Fest, Group Show, Portugal
The Indian Photography Festival, Group Show, India
Encontros da Imagem, Group Show, Portugal
Tbilisi Photo Festival, Group Show, Tbilisi, Georgia
The Photographers Gallery, Group Show, UK
Sony World Photography (SWPA), Group Show, Somerset House, UK
2016
U Space, Group Show, China
Tonnara di Marzamemi, Group Show, Italy
PAK, Group Show, 44 GALLERY, Belgium
Awards & Nominations (Selected)
2023
Winner, Annual Press Photo, Denmark
2021
Winner, BBA Photography Prize, Germany
2nd Prize, Annual Press Photo, Denmark
2017
Finalist, Magnum Photography Awards
2nd Prize in the Portrait Category, Prix De La Photographie PX3, Paris, France
2016
Winner in the Open Category, Annual Press Photo
3rd Prize, Hellerau Photography Award
Grand Prize Winner, International Photographer of the Year
Winner in the Portrait Category, Magnum Photography Awards
2nd Prize in the Sport Category, Sony World Photography Awards
Publications
2022
Six Degrees of Copenhagen, published by Book Lab
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
