Markus Rock

For German fine-art photographer Markus Rock, photography is a medium for expression, one through which he questions what it means to be human in contemporary society. Prior to devoting himself to photography, Markus Rock worked globally for over 25 years as a commercial and production designer with international high profile clients such as Vivien Westwood, Harper’s Bazaar, MTV, Sony Music and more. 

The joys and aches of human connection and individuality are paramount in the ultra-realistic, larger than life photographs. In all works, whether they are by themselves or in the company of the other, all subjects grapple with a longing for meaningful human relation, and the undercurrent of vulnerability that comes with opening oneself to being perceived by the other. The opportunity for discovery is affected by an innate fear that one can never fully understand the other. The nude subjects - their immaterial essence -  is inexplicably tied to their human physicality. Markus Rock contextualises the human body as an object observed by the viewer and as a vessel for the human subject. The supple colours and lighting draw visual references to Renaissance paintings, whilst a plastic depiction of the human body unsettles the distinction between what is reality and what is representational.

His work is a source of international fascination. In 2022, Rock was shortlisted for the BBA Photography Prize, where his 2021 series ‘The Flood’ was part of the group exhibition at Kühlhaus Berlin. In the same year, ‘The Flood’ featured in ‘Fluidity’, a group exhibition at KIB, Berlin. For the third time, the international art exhibition ‘Nordart’ has invited Markus Rock to show his series, starting with ‘The I and the Other’ (2018), ‘Julia’ (2019) and in 2023 with his most recent series ‘Chimera’.