Biography
Thorsten Rother has been working as a freelance photographer since the late 1990s. Many of his artistic works were created during solitary, extended walks through landscapes and cities. At the core of his practice lies an exploration of the complexity of life itself – a spectrum of experiences familiar to everyone: solitude, distance, resistance, strength, happiness, and pain, often existing simultaneously. This thematic focus has run through his work for decades.
Rother’s visual language is centered on light, space, and subtle shifts in atmosphere and perception – within people, places, and landscapes alike.
After many years in commercial and editorial photography, Rother has shifted his focus toward the context of contemporary art, editions, and exhibitions. Alongside photographic series, he explores sequence-based works, moving images, and AI-driven processes as an extension of his visual vocabulary. His practice unfolds across three fields: purely photographic series, hybrid works that merge photography and AI, and synthetic image worlds developed from his own archive. These fields are not defined by technique, but by different modes of expanded photographic thinking – a continuation of his visual language into new image territories.
Rother lives and works in Munich. His projects are realized worldwide, typically in small, focused setups – precise, restrained, and guided by an approach committed to clarity and essentiality.
Selected Clients – Editorials, Brands, Agencies:
DIE ZEIT, FAZ, Süddeutsche Zeitung, STERN, Manager Magazin, GEO Special, FOCUS, GQ (Deutschland, Südafrika, China), Handelsblatt, FOCUS, ELLE.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bahn, Telekom, Siemens, SAP, ZEISS, IKEA, Postbank, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Fujifilm Global.
Jung von Matt, Serviceplan, DDB, TBWA, BBDO, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scholz & Volkmer, Philipp und Keuntje.
Exhibitions:
1999 Osnabrück, Stadthaus Aula
2000 Osnabrück, Osnabrück Halle
2001 Osnabrück, Art 49 Galerie
2000 Worpswede, Philine-Vogeler-Haus
2001 Hamburg, Popup Galerie am Pferdemarkt
2003 Berlin, Kreuzberg Kunstprojekt
2004 Hamburg, Kunstfabrik
2012 München, BMW Welt
2017 Den Haag, Louwman Museum
2018 Köln, Photokina
2020 München, LMU Institut für Archäologie
2021 Tulcea, Institutul Cercetări Eco-Muzeale
2022 Augsburg, Römisches Museum
Books:
2011 BMW DTM Magalog 110%
2013 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2014 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2014 Die Alben – Seltmann & Söhne
2015 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2014 Der Tischler aus dem Teutoburger Wald – Bildband
2015 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2016 Die Alben – Seltmann & Söhne
2016 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2017 Mararie Beach – The place of the fishermen – Bildband
2018 Blickfang -Deutschlands beste Fotografen
2018 Fujifilm X Photographers – Bildband
2023 Rusu – Eine Expedition am Schwarzen Meer – Bildband