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Biography & CV
Ruben van Schalm (b. 1988, Rotterdam) is a Dutch visual artist, photographer and filmmaker working internationally between Amsterdam, New York, and Tel Aviv. His research-driven practice examines the relationship between landscape, identity, and the residual presence of the human body — even in its disappearance. Working primarily in a refined black-and-white visual language, van Schalm constructs images in which nature becomes a psychological and cultural terrain: a site where belonging, memory, and transformation quietly unfold.
Drawing on traditions of documentary, landscape, and the nude, van Schalm reframes these genres within a post-human vocabulary in which traces, atmospheres, and organic forms stand in for the figure itself. This evolving visual system — austere, meditative, and formally precise — reflects his interest in how environments mirror internal states and how identity can be expressed beyond literal depiction.
Van Schalm’s monograph Paradise (Komma, 2020), featuring a foreword by Erwin Olaf, is held in the research libraries of major institutions including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and Museum Voorlinden, underscoring the work’s relevance within academic and museum contexts.
In 2025, he was named a finalist in the Lucie Foundation’s Hidden Beauty Open Call, further consolidating his international presence. His work has been shown in curated group exhibitions and international art fairs across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Van Schalm continues to expand his interdisciplinary practice through photography, painting, and moving-image installation — a trajectory aligned with institutional interest, collection-level relevance, and long-term artistic impact.
Selected Collaborators
Artists & Creative Collaborators
Al DíazAmanda Lepore
Angel Bonani
Christopher Makos
Erwin Olaf
Hans Kemna
Jan Kooijman
Kupono Aweau
Maejor
Petite Meller
Pietro Boselli
Romain Guillermic
Timor SteffensDesign & Fashion
Corné Gabriëls
Marcelo Burlon
Rodrigo OtazuCulture & Hospitality
Rosebar
Six SensesTechnology
Google
Longevity AI
Collections & Research Libraries
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam — Research Library
Rijksmuseum — Research Library
Museum Voorlinden — Art Library
Tel Aviv Museum of Art — Art Library & Research
RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History
Leiden University — Special Collections
The MA-g Museum of Avant Garde, Switzerland
Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden
Royal Library of The Netherlands
HAAS Arts Library, Yale University
Columbia University Libraries
Cornell University Library
Princeton University Library
Library of Congress
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Getty Research Institute
Solo Exhibitions
Forthcoming
2028 — Solo Exhibition (TBA)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
The Little Black Gallery — BBB — Manila
2023
Kahmann Krollmann Collection — Berlin
The Little Black Gallery — BBB — Australia
Haute Photographie — Rotterdam2022
The Future Is Here — Amsterdam
2021
Haute Photographie — Amsterdam
Haute Photographie — Rotterdam2019
GUP New Talent 2020 — Amsterdam
2016
The Barbadian — X Bank — Amsterdam
2013
London Boys — La Culture — Tel Aviv
Publications
Monograph
Paradise, 2020
Publisher: Komma
Foreword: Erwin Olaf
ISBN: 978-94-91525-91-9
Group Publications
2025 — Eyes on the World — Kamira Institute
2023 — Boys! Boys! Boys! — Kehrer Verlag
2020 — New Dutch / GUP New Talent 2020
2020 — Boys! Boys! Boys! — MENDO / TeNeues
Selected Press & Features
2025 — Artdoc Magazine
2025 — Fishey Magazine
2024 — The Eye of Photography Magazine
2022 — Art Benelux Magazine
2022 — Haute Photographie Catalogue
2020 — Musée Magazine
2020 — The Eye of Photography Magazine
2020 — Focus Magazine
2020 — GUP New Photography
2020 — Boys! Boys! Boys! (Volume Nº5)
2019 — Photo31
Selected Critical Writing
“The Photographer paints a world in which he evokes a delicate balance between man and nature, illustrating how we must approach, respect and cherish the vulnerability of our surroundings.”
— Erwin Olaf (2020)
Mentorship
Erwin Olaf — Artistic mentorship and long-term guidance
Van Schalm’s artistic development was catalyzed by a long-term mentorship with Erwin Olaf. Their ongoing dialogue on the photographic process played an essential role in forming the emotional clarity and narrative sensitivity that define van Schalm's visual language.
Private Collections
Works held in private collections in:
Australia, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, and additional countries.
