World #36, cibachrome print, 2010.
Reflection, archival pigment print, 105 x 150 cm, 2010
Theater #2, cibachrome print, 2010
Ruud Van Empel (b. 1958) is a Dutch artist, based in the Netherlands. He has been working with Photoshop since the early 90's; his photographs are composited from many different images he has personally taken both in and out of the studio. In this interview, he talks about the notion of "re-creating a better reality" through his methodical process. By using parts and pieces of photographs in such a way, Van Empel renders a real environment that is slightly off-kilter somehow, eerily imperfect. In terms of photography, he is taking concepts of light and space and making them his own, making his photographs somewhat painterly in how he creates compositions and subjects. He is also interested in innocence, and photographs from his own childhood.
