About
About
Dark Gallery CPH is an independent, artist-run photography gallery dedicated to experimentation and narrative practices within lens-based media.
We invite artists, curators, storytellers, and galleries to join our community and engage in collaborations both within and beyond our Copenhagen-based art space.
The gallery is governed by 9 full partners and 2 half partners, and is supported by 11 “rookie” partners.
A unique feature of the gallery is Dark Spaces—an exhibition format where light plays a performative role in the curated experience, inviting visitors to immerse themselves fully in the narrative.
The gallery takes part in festivals and hosts events throughout the year.
If you would like to join our gallery community, please check the options on our “How to Join” page.
Curatorial Focus for 2026-27
Our curatorial focus for 2026–27 explores the intersections between photography and science. Through research-driven exhibitions, performative experiments, artist talks, and workshops, we examine how scientific inquiry and artistic vision mutually expand our understanding of the photographic medium.
The programme highlights the material, chemical, and technological dimensions of image-making — from photo chemistry and analogue processes to AI and machine vision — inviting audiences to experience photography as both an artistic and investigative act.
Several of the gallery’s projects are interactive, encouraging visitors to participate in experiments, image-making, and dialogue, transforming the exhibition space into a site of shared exploration.
Partners and associated artists:
Thomas Suchy, 45 (Germany)
I am a visual artist, curator, and social architect based in Copenhagen. My artistic and curatorial practice explores the intersection of human emotions, social constructs, and our relationship with the environment and nature. I primarily work with digital photography and mixed media.
As a partner at Dark Gallery CPH, I aim to create meaningful experiences and a platform for dialogue around social issues. I have curated several group exhibitions, both in pop-up galleries and digital spaces.
Michael Collinge, 51 (New Zealand)
I’m a designer, photographer, and artist from New Zealand, now based in Copenhagen.
My career began at the Elam school of Fine Arts, in Auckland, where I majored in painting. Following art school, I attended design school at Victoria University, Wellington, where I earned my Bachelor of Visual Communication. For the past 25 years, I’ve worked as a graphic designer, specialising in brand and visual identity.
My photographic background is primarily in street photography, but as my career and growth as a photographer evolves, I am increasingly motivated to explore more conceptual based themes, and develop my photography in a more artistic direction.
As a partner at Dark Gallery CPH, I aim to expand the boundaries of my own artistic expression amongst a community of fellow photographers and artists.
Sara Bentsaltana, 27 (France/Spain)
I’m a French-Spanish artist living and working between Copenhagen and Toulouse (FR) . I graduated with honours from both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in fine arts at the Institut Supérieur des Arts et du Design de Toulouse in 2023, and also studied at Det Fynske Kunstakademi in Denmark.
At the core of my practice is a pursuit of light and a desire to push the boundaries of the photographic medium, seeking to reveal the threshold between the visible and the invisible. My work delves into the spiritual aspects of nature and light, aiming to communicate with what is no longer present and to capture the unseen.
My work has been exhibited in solo and group shows internationally, including The Silver that Kissed the Sliver that Persists at this gallery, Rencontres Internationales Traverse Video, and the Experimental Photo Festival, amongst others. I’ve participated in residencies such as CONNECT 2 (arts and sciences) with the University of Toulouse and CNRS, and the Koganecho AIR program in Yokohama (JP).
With Dark Gallery CPH, I aim to sharpen my curatorial skills and help showcase the world the potential of slow photography.
Marina Holst, 26 (Denmark)
My practice emerges from an interest in the tension between the planned and the unpredictable within (coastal) landscapes. With a background in architecture, I explore how people relate to places and how places relate to people — where the exchange between human intention and natural forces becomes visible.
Water is a central element in my work, both as a physical force and as a narrative thread, shaping how landscapes transform and how we understand those changes.
As a partner in Dark Gallery CPH, I aim to engage in both short and long-term collaborations, and to experiment with visual storytelling that connects environment, narrative, and public dialogue.
Yin-Rou Hwang, 30 (Taiwan)
I am an artist based in Farum and a graduate of Taipei National University of the Arts. My practice combines textiles and stage photography to create what I call soft image sculptures.
For a long time, I have also run my natural clothing design brand, where I integrate sunlight printing techniques to embed images into fibre. Works such as Play Nude (cyanotype) and The One (chlorophyll print) explore this intersection of material and image.
Working with analogue film, I consciously capture the language of plants and landscapes. My travel photographs, often taken against the aura of sunlight, attempt to preserve the fleeting impressions of being on the way.
For me, photography functions both as evidence and as a source of imagination, a thread that also extends into my painting practice.
At Dark Gallery CPH, I hope to further explore curatorial approaches that create new ways of interacting with the public.
Kim Wyon, 64 (UK/DK)
My art practice spans several decades, following an explorative path from interactive digital installations in the 1990s and signage in the public space to street activism, expressionist shodo, wild comix art painting, and flag art. In recent years, my analogue fine art photography has focused on interactive storytelling, often incorporating light as a performative element within the curated experience.
I am also the founder of several independent art spaces, including Dark Gallery CPH, envisioned as Copenhagen’s first fully artist-run gallery dedicated to photography and film.
At Dark Gallery CPH, my current personal focus is on developing photographic micro-projects that connect the gallery with the surrounding public space.
(Website and social media currently under construction)
Maryam Mazaheri, 45 (Iran)
As an engineer and lighting designer, I am always seeking the connection between my technical approach and my love for art. I believe that even the most technical features can hold artistic value. Through photography, I explore the interplay between light and darkness, their coexistence is what allows us to see, and their complexity creates shadows that range from soft to hard, inviting us to think in new ways. With Dark Gallery CPH, I aim to showcase light and darkness as powerful mediums, appreciating their presence and impact in real life. It is also a space for experimental photography, where I push boundaries and explore new ways of seeing the world.
Ivan Aguilar, 46 (Mexico)
I am a landscape and street photographer working with analogue and instant films. I prefer the analogue process because it helps me be intentional from the start, forcing me to reflect on the message I want to convey and making me more critical of what I aim to capture.
Through my photography, I aspire to uncover the hidden poetry in relatively ordinary moments and objects. I try to derive from them a dream-like narrative—incomplete yet highly suggestive. I prefer not to photograph people but instead explore mostly desolate natural or urban landscapes, whether real, staged, or imagined. My choice to work in black and white helps me avoid colour taking too much prominence and supports the solitude I seek to evoke.
By joining the gallery, I hope to collaborate with fellow photographers and be part of a creative network that both inspires me and challenges my photographic vision.
Claudia Dons, 45 (Denmark)
I’m a Danish photographer with a BA (Hons) in Photographic Art from the University of Westminster in London. For more than 20 years, I have worked in commercial photography, telling visual stories for clients—but I’ve always missed the freedom of artistic exploration.
Through Dark Gallery CPH, I want to reconnect with that creative side, dive deep into personal projects, and experiment with different approaches to photography. I’m drawn to the quiet tension between stillness and story – and how a single image can hold emotion, memory, and meaning just beneath the surface. For me, photography is a way to explore, to play, and to connect—with ideas, with others, and with myself.
Luke Adekoya Campbell, 36 (UK)
Rika Yasui, 41 (Denmark/Japan)
I am a forever curious Danish-Japanese film director and projection artist with a long list of education in the creative field.
I cherish craftsmanship and seek to combine and challenge genres, work methods and ways of thinking as I am drawn to poke at your mindset.
My contribution to the world is to give someone an experience that leads to reflection, discussion or change.
Website (new website pending)
Victor Havmann Andersen, 53 (Denmark)
Loui Moon, 46 (Denmark)
Art photographer, trained at Fatamorgana and the Glasgow School of Art.
I explore identity, gender, activism, and imagination through staged photographic tableaux, performance, and mixed media. My vibrant work challenges perceptions of reality, provoking reflection while sparking playful and liberating perspectives on human existence.
At Dark Gallery CPH, my aim is to further develop my artistic storytelling and take part in the inspiration and collaboration the gallery fosters.
Dave Feral, 48 (Germany)
AI Creator & Storyteller
I’m an artist and storyteller working with AI to create emotional and thought-provoking experiences. I’ve spent many years in the creative field as a digital branding expert, leading teams and building digital experiences. Today, I focus mainly on using AI to tell visual stories.
My work often blends real and fictional elements to explore themes like identity, perception, and human behavior. I create exhibitions, images, and short films that invite people to question what they see and feel. Projects like The Life and Death of John Doe and The Sinners show how I use sound, visuals, and interaction to tell deeper stories in new ways.
I want to be part of a space that dares to show bold, unusual, and modern work. Dark Gallery CPH feels like the right place to experiment, share stories, and connect with people in a more meaningful way. My goal is to keep pushing creative limits—together with others who do the same.
Alexandra Shander, 42 (Ukrainian-Russian-German)
I began my photography journey studying fine art photography at Vera Skole in Copenhagen, and though my career has taken me through different creative fields, I always return to photography. I recently founded Kultiveret, a cultural travel atelier where I also arrange photo-related events.
My work explores the space where reality slips into dreams and shifting perceptions. My process is experimental and intuitive, moving between portraits, abstraction, and visual poetry. I often work with film for its texture and unpredictability.
At Dark Gallery CPH, I want to explore photography with renewed openness and embracing experiment, play, and discovery. I see the gallery as a creative home where I can both grow and contribute to a larger conversation.
Christian Rischel, (Denmark)
I take pictures of road surfaces, markings, and other ground surface materials. I take pictures of yellow lines on asphalt, runway markings, and the symbols painted at taxi stands.
The photos are taken with a mobile phone or a camera. I discover the subjects on my journeys through the city and the world. I pay particular attention to roadwork, where there may be unusual colour combinations— perhaps blue-yellow or yellow-white. Fresh asphalt and freshly painted lines can also provide striking contrasts and textures.
In terms of expression, I strive for kinship with minimalist painters, especially Barnett Newman. It’s important to me that my images are geometric compositions with a few balanced surfaces where the texture of the road material emerges. Road surfaces are ordinary, yet full of beautiful texture. By using photography as a medium, I attempt to capture both the real and the abstract at once.
I’m excited to join Dark Gallery CPH with its immersive approach to presentation of photography, and I look forward to contributing to the innovative development of exhibitions.
Agnieszka Smoleńska, 33 (Poland)
My work centres on people and the emotions that emerge in real, unguarded moments. I am drawn to human presence in everyday life, capturing authenticity and atmosphere with a focus on storytelling. Constantly exploring new avenues, I move between urban streets, boxing gyms, and creative environments, always seeking fragments of reality that reveal something deeper.
Stylistically, my photography blends reportage with a cinematic sensibility. I work with natural light, shadow, and texture to create images that feel raw yet intentional, aiming to transform fleeting moments into lasting visual narratives.
Dark Gallery CPH is my safe space for free artistic expression. As a partner, I aim to expand my photographic sensibility, experiment boldly, and stay inspired through exchange with others.
Karoline Debora Hill, 32 (Germany)
Like unspoken words between the lines, there are moments that fall out of the time of planned situations that I try to capture.
Again and again I find myself on the high seas on a sailing ship, in workshops where nimble hands create the most beautiful things or at life’s special events that demand a good eye but also fulfil my urge to tell stories.
Photography is my tool for expressing the beauty of the world, the inexpressible, the indescribable. I also try my hand at making videos, documenting journeys and people in different situations. I experiment with different analogue and printing techniques.
Alfonso Gutierrez (Colombia)
It has always been important for me to act as a documentarian of queer persons, queer life and culture.
Beginning my career photographing the club scene, queer lifestyle, portraits and working in fashion, I witnessed how queer culture continuously shapes and influences mainstream culture—an observation that remains central to my practice.
Through photography and art, I explore queer culture from multiple perspectives, tracing both collective and personal narratives and my own journey.
Joining Dark Gallery as a partner offers the chance to share my work alongside other talented creatives. Having mostly worked independently, I see this as an opportunity to grow, collaborate, and push the boundaries of my practice.
Pending texts:
Jakob Kjøller (Denmark)
Francesca Pitis (Italy)
Jess Lycoops (Belgium)
Zuzanna Stachlewska (Poland)