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With the “Hasselblad Masters” Visual Gallery at photokina (September 21 – 26, 2010) has succeeded in bringing one of the most renowned photography awards to Cologne. On show will be the ten Hasselblad Masters of 2009, who emerged from a field of over 3,000 participants after a rigorous and demanding selection process. The exhibition will present fascinating images by ten master photographers from around the world in the categories of Architecture, Editorial, Fashion, Fine art, General, Nature & Landscapes, Portrait, Product, Up and Coming, and Wedding Photography. The winners also include Nina Berman (Editorial) and Stephan Zirwes (Architecture), whose work has already been chosen by the Visual Gallery curators for solo exhibitions.

Every year Hasselblad adds ten new names to the ranks of the Hasselblad Masters. The chosen masters are photographers range from the well-known and established to creative, ambitious individuals starting out in their careers. One hundred finalists were chosen from a field of roughly 3,000 entries for the Hasselblad Masters — nearly twice as many as last year — and from these 100 entries, jurors including Steve McCurry (USA), Anton Corbijn (the Netherlands), and Tim Flach (UK) selected the winners. Their decisions were based on the creativity, composition, concept, and technical innovation of the works.

“This Masters Awards was one of the most competitive in the program’s history. Christian Nørgaard, Hasselblad’s Photographer Relations Manager, noted that “We were very pleased with the overall quality of submissions by the 2009 candidates, demonstrating the respect and recognition the Masters Awards has gained over the years.” Nørgaard goes on to say that, “Given the exceptional talents of the 100 finalists, though, it was very difficult for the international Hasselblad panel to select only 10 winners.”

“The 2009 Masters Award was one of the most competitive in the history of the program.“ said Christian Nørgaard, Hasselblad Photographer Relations Manager. “We were very satisfied with the overall quality of the entries submitted by the candidates in 2009. This demonstrates how much respect and recognition the Masters Award has achieved over the years.” Nørgaard added, “Considering the exceptional talent of the 100 finalists, it was extremely difficult for the international Hasselblad Panel to select just 10 winners.”
The Hasselblad Masters of 2009 are:

Editorial: Nina Berman, NYC, USA (solo exhibition at Visual Gallery 2008)
Up and Coming: Lyle Owerko, NYC, USA
Portrait: Claudio Napolitano, Miami, USA / Caracas, Venezuela
Fashion: Dirk Rees, London, England
Landscape: Bang Peng, Hong Kong
Product: Mark Holthusen, San Francisco, USA
Fine Art: Alex and Felix, Switzerland

General: Mark Zibert, Toronto, Canada
Architecture: Stephan Zirwes, Stuttgart, Germany (solo exhibition at Visual Gallery 2010)
Wedding: Joao Carlos, NYC, USA

Note for editorial offices

A small initial selection of very high-quality images related to the artists and exhibitions mentioned here is available in Koelnmesse’s image database at www.visualgallery.de in a password-protected area of the Press section. Depending on the artist or institution in question, it is necessary to comply with very clearly defined terms regarding rights of use. These terms can be viewed by clicking on the terms-of-use link above the registration button. Please comply fully with these terms of use in order to prevent any copyright infringement problems arising at a later date.