About Rouven
Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.
Diane Arbus
Rouven Kurz is an award-winning street photographer from Cologne who creates a noir atmosphere by capturing isolated people in the tangle of the metropolis, leading viewers into a world of light and shadow.
He senses connection between the structural elements of a metropolis and the countless people who pass through it. Each one of them has his own chronicle, while the architecture forms a constant backdrop. Rouven Kurz has an eye for the unique moment when geometry, light and random movements of unknown people collapse into a harmonious composition. The scenes are unrepeatable, but the isolated portrayal of the people and the immense negative space inspires people to keep imagining their own story.
In contrast to these black and white images, the color series is a freer approach to distilling fascinating scenes from the everyday. He experiments with different colors and textures to make his images more vivid and expressive. He plays with the idea that photography is an art form that not only depicts reality, but also abstracts, interprets and transforms it.
Exhibitions & Awards
Boomer Gallery
London, UK | January 10th to 15th 2025
Three photographs at the eighth edition of What Is Art.
Street Macadam
Finalist in the B&W Awards 2025.
The Artist Gallery
Honorable Mention in the Street Photo 2024 contest.
No Name Collective
Winner of the February 2024 Challenge & Magazine Feature.
Millepiani
Rome, Italy | October 10th to 20th 2023
Monochromes Exhibition by Loosenart.
The Art, Region of Crete
Athens, Greece | October 13th to 15th 2023
Limassol, Cyprus | September 22nd to 24th 2023
Heraklion, Greece | August 7th to 18th 2023
Touring exhibition of the finalists of the international photography contests by The Art, Co-Organization of The Region of Crete. Winner in the category Street Photography.
Solo Exhibition
Werdohl, Germany | September 1sh to 30th 2023
Solo Exhibition in the new Art Window in the heart of the city.
London Art Biennale
London, UK | July 26th to 30th 2023
The sixth edition of the contemporary Art Exhibition London Art Biennale taking place in the Old Town Hall of Chelsea.
The Stage Gallery
Bonn, Germany | July 7th to August 5th 2023
Summer Special Show at The Stage Gallery in Bonn.
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum
Cologne, Germany | May 13th 2023
Portfolio presentation as part of the International Photoszene Festival.
K49
Cologne, Germany | March 4th to 19th 2023
Sixth edition of the black and white only exhibition schwarzweiss by K49.
The Stage Gallery
Bonn, Germany | February 9th to 18th 2023
Inaugural exhibition of The Stage Gallery in Bonn after some successful years in Cologne.
Photosynthesis Photography Center
Sofia, Bulgaria | August 1st to 15th 2019
Street photography exhibition in the art-café gallery of Photosynthesis
ITSLIQUID
Venice, Italy | June 14th to 16th 2019
Group exhibition at the Venice Biennale on the antique Pallezo Ca’ Zanardi, run by the local ITSLIQUID group.
Features
URBANVOID Magazine
Volume 1, 01/2025
Photobook: New York – The Pictorial List
Volume 1 (page 260), 10/2024
F-Stop Magazine – Cities Edition
#124, 04/2024
F-Stop Magazine
#119, 06/2023
Docu Magazine
Best of Documentary & Street Photography #15, 03/2023
Street Photography Magazine
Street Shooters of the Month, 12/2020
STRKNG
Editors Selection #54, 09/2020
The Pictorial List
Pictured Interview, 03/2020
Urban Street Photo Gallery
U R Urban Contest, 02/2020