Robert Curran’s photography show, ANTHOLOGY, is one of the must-sees for Art Basel this year. As an artist whose photographs explore ancient cultures that have left behind a rich architectural and cultural legacy, he is taking the world of fine art photography to the deepest corners of the blue planet.
Curran has traveled through more than 90 countries to shoot his work, photographing the world’s most recognized celebrities and dignitaries as well as indigenous villagers in the globe’s remotest of islands. His anthology for Art Basel reflects on his decades of travels with a particular emphasis on recent journeys in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, as well as older works documenting his excursions through Eastern Europe in the early 90s, just after Mikhail Gorbachev initiated his new policy of perestroika. “I have met and photographed kings, paupers, and sages and tried to learn from all of them.
Frequently focusing on images that honor incredible monuments in areas such as the Middle East, Asia, and South America, Curran has spent a career capturing civilizations on film. “My grandfather was an archeologist and in charge of Machu Picchu, and that inspired an early interest in ancient civilizations. I was fortunate to see many archeological wonders through my travels, and have studied the cultures that created these architecturally complex buildings with little but stone, ingenuity, and immense amounts of human labor. These travels have given me the richest experiences of my life, which I endeavor to express through my photography,” he says.
His artistic perspective has not only caught the eye of Haute Living; he has a legion of fans and collectors that read like a who’s who of high society. His photographs currently appear in the private collections of His Majesty Abdullah Hussein, King of Jordan, Miguel Forbes, The Kennedy family, and Alex Sapir. He sold out shows in Manhattan at The Forbes Gallery in 2002 and 2005, and followed that up with a one-man show at the Mission Gallery in Miami, which showcased his photography during Art Basel in 2006 and 2007.
