Biography
Deen van Meer has been photographing performing arts for over three decades. By capturing movement, emotion, scenography, light and aesthetics, he captures the essence of dance, theatre, opera and musicals. He also creates autonomous work, for which he regularly ventures into nature. Despite the different starting points between these forms of photography, Van Meer sees parallels: he considers the stage as a landscape, and the landscape as a stage.
Deen van Meer lives and works in New York. Before he began capturing the spirit of Amsterdam in the 1980s, he studied philosophy. The photographs he took of ballet dancer Alexandra Radius’ farewell tour caught the attention of Rudi van Dantzig, then artistic director of the Dutch National Ballet. In 1992, he began photographing the company’s productions. Deen van Meer collaborated with choreographers Hans van Manen, Toer van Schaijk and Ted Brandsen, and later also with directors Pierre Audi, Ivo van Hove and Suzanne Kennedy. Since 2010, he has been travelling the world to photograph musicals.
Photographic works and book
In 2022, the book We are such stuff was published, for which he made a selection from the photographic oeuvre he has built up over thirty years. The book, which includes an essay by Arnon Grunberg, provides a powerful picture of three decades of performing arts in the Netherlands and beyond.
Deen van Meer’s photographic works are available in limited editions. Examples of available photographs can be found here.
Exhibition
