Biography

Robin de Puy’s (b.1986, the Netherlands) photographs start with a desire to tell her own story through the faces of others. Whether it’s the freckled adolescent she noticed whilst refuelling in Wyoming, the Dutch author, poet and columnist Remco Campert, or the boy Randy she met in Nevada whilst on her American road trip, de Puy sees the camera as an aid to understand the deeply personal traits and histories of each person, and how they also reveal something about herself. Many of her encounters are fleeting; a heartfelt glance into the life of someone else before time resumes its frantic pace. In others, as with Randy, those same transient experiences blossom into profound and enduring relationships. Regardless of which ending they have, de Puy’s photographs are always imbued with a sensitivity and timelessness that encourages a slow gaze on the human condition. Her images are chances for genuine human connection, and through sharing with them with the world, allow us to take part in such moments.

“A Joyous, Mysterious Portrait of Rural American Boyhood.” ~ The New Yorker about her project RANDY

Robin de Puy studied at the Fotoacademie Rotterdam and has been exhibited internationally at institutions and galleries including; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht (2018); Museum Hilversum, Hilversum (2017); The Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague (2016); Stedelijk Museum, Breda (2016) and Photoville, New York (2016). Amongst numerous other awards, De Puy was the winner of the National Portrait Prize in both 2013 and 2019. Her work is held in major public and private collections including Bonnefantenmuseum, Maasstricht; De Nederlandse Bank, Amsterdam; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar; Centraal Museum Utrecht, Utrecht; Fotomuseum Den Haag, The Hague; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague.

In 2015, de Puy took a 10,000 km road trip across the US on a Harley Davidson, making images that were published as the book If This Is True, I’ll Never Have to Leave Home Again in 2016. The trip was documented by Simone de Vries and Maarten van Rossem, and the film was nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2017.

“The American road trip is a photographic trope that’s often abused by countless photographers, but Robin de Puy, through her truly personal approach, has produced an opus that sets her apart from the masses. Her American road trip spanned 8,000 miles on a motorcycle, but you’ll rarely see pictures of stunning landscapes in her work. Instead, the Dutch photographer chose to focus on the people she met – sharing personal experiences that many photographes would shun. The result is a stunning study of today’s America made all the more relevant after Donald Trump’s election.” ~ TIME MAGAZINE about her first book ‘If This Is True’.

text by: Kris Kozlowski Moore

Clients

Volkskrant – Volkskrant Magazine – New York Magazine – Bloomberg Businessweek – KPN – Het Parool – Le Monde M – L’Officiel – LINDA. magazine – Vrij Nederland – Adformatie – Creatie – BVN (Breast Cancer Ass.) – Vice – N=5 – KesselsKramer – This That or The Other – J. WALTER THOMPSON – Purple Diary – Dutch National Ballet – Süddeutsche Zeitung – G-Star.