About
'Urban Erosion' on show | Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL | Photo by Maarten Nauw
Artist Statement
Movement. That is at the heart of Dutch photographer Maarten Vromans’ (1975) work and process. Whether he travels on foot, by train or by boat, he captures the changing landscapes that pass him by. Vromans’ photography goes beyond documenting what he sees; it is a pursuit for the hidden power and aesthetics of transient moments.
Vromans focuses specifically on transitional places: those temporary, often unnoticed areas where one setting gradually changes into another. He feels most at home in this no-man’s land, where human presence is absent, and nature comes to the fore. For him, these are the places where time seems to have a different pace and where he can relax as a photographer and a person.
His pictures, which never feature people, are often mistaken for paintings. This is most likely due to his minimalist and timeless style and his preference for clean, graphic lines. With abstract images that retain the essence of his subjects, Vromans explores the boundaries of classic landscape photography and offers a fresh interpretation of this artistic discipline.
The urgency to create is in Vromans’ nature. All his projects begin with a period of intensive contemplation, in which he explores, with unlimited freedom, the subjects, themes and locations that best fit the story he wants to depict. This thorough groundwork enables him to attentively develop the essence of his story further during his photography.
Vromans’ work is an invitation to reflect on the beauty of the everyday. By taking spectators to no-man’s lands full of refined contrasts, he shows them how rich the world can be, especially in its most modest and quiet moments.
At the beginning of his career, Vromans’ work was included in New Dutch Photography Talent (now known as GUP New). He later self-published the monograph Lucky Shots, and his ‘Urban Transition’ series was published into a booklet by the Berlin publisher The Velvet Cell.
Almost all the works from Vromans’ ‘Urban Erosion’ series were shown during a solo exhibition on the façade of the world-famous pop-temple, Paradiso in Amsterdam (NL). Work from his ‘Lucky Shots’ series is included in the collection of the Ministry of the Interior in The Hague. Vromans currently lives and works in Delft and is represented by Contour Gallery in Rotterdam.
Exhibitions | Solo
2025 Hope | Contour Gallery, Rotterdam, NL
2021 Urban Erosion | Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL
2016 Urban Erosion | The Hague University, The Hague, NL
Selected Exhibitions | Group
2024 (Return) To The Sea | Shutter Hub X Seafront Gallery | Worthing, UK
2023 To The Sea | Shutter Hub X Les Alizes | Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, FR
2022 Contemporary Landscape 2022 | CICA Museum | Gimpo, KR
2022 London Photo Show | Bargehouse Gallery | London, UK
2022 100 Artworks | 20square7 Gallery | Berlin, DE
2021 Publieke Werken | Stichting De Loodsen, Rotterdam, NL
2021 From Town Across Town | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2021 Reading a Landscape | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2020 Urban | PH21 Gallery X Valid World Hall, Barcelona, ES
2020 Find Myself a City | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2019 Beneath the Surface | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2019 Fleeting Essence | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2018 What's Really Happening | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2018 Playing Fields | Zerp Galerie, Rotterdam, NL
2018 Peripheral Visions | PH21 Gallery, Budapest, HU
2017 The Shape of Things | PH21 Gallery, Budapest, HU
2017 Street Photography | PH21 Gallery, Budapest, HU
2017 Scapes | PH21 Gallery, Budapest, HU
2016 New Dutch Photography Talent | 5and33 Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
Selected Online Exhibitions | Group
2024 Yearbook 2024 | Shutter Hub | Nottingham, UK
2023 Yearbook 2023 | Shutter Hub | Nottingham, UK
2022 Favorite Photo of 2021 | Lenscratch | Newport Beach, USA
2021 Landscape 2021 | F-Stop Magazine | Chicago, USA
2021 Onyx III | Envision Arts, Dallas, USA
2021 Minimalism II | Envision Arts, Dallas, USA
Fairs | Festivals
2023 Cip Festival, Chania, GR | Presented by Blank Wall Gallery
2021 PAN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL | Represented by Zerp Galerie
2019 PAN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL | Represented by Zerp Galerie
2019 Photo London, London, UK | Presented by Art on a Postcard
2018 PAN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL | Represented by Zerp Galerie
2018 KunstRai, Amsterdam, NL | Represented by Zerp Galerie
2017 PAN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL | Represented by Zerp Galerie
Awards | Nominations
2023 Art Awards 2023 | Business Art Service | Utrecht, NL | Winner of the Audience Award
2023 Art Photography Awards 2024 | LensCulture, Amsterdam, NL | Editors' Pick
2022 Symmetry | The Motif Collective, Florida, USA | Shortlisted
2021 Onyx III | Envision Arts, Dallas, USA | Best In Show
2021 Urban Life | Life Framer Awards, London, UK | Editors' Pick
2021 Abstract | Fine Art Photography Awards, London, UK | Nominee
2020 Abstract | Fine Art Photography Awards, London, UK | Nominee
2018 Urban Life | Life Framer Awards, London, UK | Honourable mention
2018 Urban Life | Life Framer Awards, London, UK | Editors' Pick
Publications | Monographs
2021 Urban Transition - Maarten Vromans | The Velvet Cell, Berlin, DE
2018 Lucky Shots - Maarten Vromans | Maarten Vromans, Rotterdam, NL
Publications | Other
2024 Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2025 | Trichis, Rotterdam, NL
2023 Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2024 | Trichis, Rotterdam, NL
2022 100 Artworks | ASBP, Berlin, DE
2021 Publieke Werken Rotterdam | Stichting De Loodsen, Rotterdam, NL
2016 New Dutch Photography Talent | Xpublishers, Amsterdam, NL
Selected Press | Mentions
AD.nl | Aesthetica Magazine | Aint-Bad | Broad Magazine | Buzzfeed | C41 Magazine | Creative Boom | Digifotopro | Format Magazine | Frames | F-Stop Magazine | Iceview Magazine | Life Framer | MAP6 | Noice Magazine | Panaroma.pm | Rental Magazine | Seen Magazine | Shotkit | Spectaculum Magazine | Swiss Miss | The Pictorial List | Vers Beton | Zaptronic
Collections
Ministry of Internal Affairs, The Hague, NL | Private collections, BE, CAN, NL
Testimonials
"Here you have it, a Swiss landscape as you may not have seen it before, seen in images that cannot be repeated, left up to chance, albeit taken with an experienced hand."
Karin Svadlenak on 'No Horizon' | Spectaculum Magazine | Vienna, AT | 2022
“Even in the most carefully planned urban space, weather and human intervention inevitably leave their marks on buildings. Maarten Vromans turns these signs of time passing into abstract images that sometimes don’t look like buildings at all, but more like a sheet of crumpled paper, lines painted on canvas, or a close-up of a sculpture.”
Jill Blackmore Evans on 'Urban Erosion' | Format, Toronto, CAN | 2018
"In our rush to get from one place to the other, most people don't pause to notice walls unless they're plastered with adverts or adorned with graffiti. Photographer Maarten Vromans isn't most people, though. [ ... ] Fittingly titled 'Urban Erosion', this series of photographs treats buildings and walls with the same consideration usually reserved for natural features such as cliff faces and coastal areas. Undulating concrete slabs, flaked stucco that reveals brickwork underneath, and curiously dented metal panels are the focus here, and their idiosyncrasies are just as telling more conventional scenic locations."
Dom Carter on 'Urban Erosion' | Creative Boom, Manchester, UK | 2021
"From old to new, to new to old? After a massive reconstruction following World War II, the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, is now known for its clean and modern architecture. But photographer Maarten Vromans believes there’s imperfection in even the most seemingly perfect things, and has taken his camera to the streets of the city to explore its "urban erosion." From slightly dented metal to upheaved pavement, Vromans has shown us that no matter where we live, if we look hard enough, we too can find beauty and art in the hidden corners of our streets."
Neah Gray on 'Urban Erosion' | BuzzFeed, New York, USA | 2018