Harry Gruyaert: Homeland
Harry Gruyaert, a renowned Magnum photographer, was one of the first in Europe to fully embrace the potential of color, drawing inspiration from American pioneers such as William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Strongly influenced by Pop Art, his richly layered compositions bring together texture, light, color, and architecture, crafting jewel-toned scenes that feel closer to painting than traditional photography.
While his travels have taken him across diverse landscapes, he has often returned to his birthplace. In the country he once viewed as bleak, he uncovered a surprising beauty. From urban lighting and neon storefronts to hidden corners of suburban life, passers-by on nighttime journeys, bustling ports, and countryside vistas stretching into eternity—his lens captures Belgium’s distinctiveness, portraying ordinary life as if on a vibrant, hyper-real film set. Adding a contrast to his more recent color work, three portfolios of black-and-white images from the 1970s intersperse this journey, creating a profound visual narrative through Belgium’s lowlands.
About the Author
Harry Gruyaert, born in Antwerp in 1941, studied film and photography in Brussels. He moved to Paris and worked as a freelance director of photography for Flemish television until 1967. In 1969, he began his travels to Morocco, later living in London from 1970 to 1972, where he experimented with manipulating images from a broken TV screen, including scenes from the 1972 Munich Olympics and Apollo flights. Between 1973 and 1980, Gruyaert focused on Belgium in both black and white and color. Joining Magnum Photos in 1981, he continued extensive travels across Asia, the U.S., the Middle East, and Russia, capturing the unique light and colors of each place. In the 2000s, Gruyaert transitioned to digital photography. Seeking the best print quality, he adopted inkjet printing to better represent the vivid hues in his work, enhancing his commitment to vibrant color as an artistic focus.
