Georges Rousse (French, b.1947) is a photographer, painter, and installation artist, who lives and works in Paris, France. Rousse has been taking photos since receiving his first camera at the age of nine, but he never formally attended art school to pursue photography. Instead, he attended medical school in Nice, but studied photography and printing on the side.
Rousse's first foray into professional photography was with the opening of an architectural photography studio, where he could indulge his love of both photography and architecture. Rousse abandoned photographing architecture to focus on photographing his own installations created within derelict buildings. This change in work was inspired by a viewing of
Black Square Against a White Field by
Kazimir Malevich (Russian, 1879–1935).
Rousse's photographs have been shown on a large scale to make viewers immerse themselves in his work. He has been widely exhibited, starting with his first exhibition at the Galerie de France in Paris in 1981. Other exhibitions have taken place at the Art Center in Lyon, the Missokhan Gallery in Kobe, and the Johyun Gallery in Seoul. His work has received a good deal of critical approval as well, resulting in several prestigious awards, including the Villa Médicis hors les murs in 1983, the Villa Médicis from 1985 to 1987, the Salon de Montrouge Drawing Prize in 1992, and the National Grand Prix of Photography award in 2008.
Rousse's installations extend far beyond photography. His constructive use of space requires both sculpting and painting to achieve his vision. In addition, his familiarity with architecture helps blend the architectural elements of a site with his artistic constructions. The setup is immortalized in a photograph. Some of his works, such as
Vitry (2007) or
Metz (1994), can only be fully appreciated when photographed, since the installations were intended to be viewed from a specific angle. Rousse is represented by the RX Gallery in Paris.