My series uses portraits and landscapes to show the fragile side of life in South Africa. My portraits are taken at eye level with my subjects staring straight ahead with strong, determined expressions, their faces cast in shadow. They are the singular focus, with no background to provide context or to embellish.

Landscapes also form part of my series: houses and cottages set against the vast expanses around Cape Town and Johannesburg. What connects the photographs is the natural light of South Africa. This gives them an immediacy and honesty.

Claudio Rasano lives in Basel and received the Taylor Wessing photographic Portrait Prize 2016 National Portrait Gallery London First prize and in 2017 the Photovogue in Portraits First prize, the Lensculture portrait award Finalists , the Syngenta Photography Award He was awarded in 2017 Framer WORLD TRAVELERS  judged by Steve Mc Curry , 2020 Night of the year 2020 – Les rencontres d’Arles, and in 2019 PHOTO:ISRAEL  he received Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography
Swiss photographer Claudio Rasano’s work may cross countries and continents, but there is one thing that features centrally throughout, people.
People are the focal point of his work, whether it’s schoolchildren in South Africa or cigarette sellers in Tirana, the story of the country that Claudio is working in is told through its people.
His work is focused around the human stories of an area, but in many cases it is not just the person that is of interest. The composition of many of his images, even when portraits, provides a snapshot of the landscapes and built environments that are around the subject. This contextualises many of his photographs, helping you to build a more rounded impression of the individuals based on their surroundings too.

Exhibitions
2020 Night of the year 2020 – Les rencontres d’Arles
2019 PHOTO:ISRAEL Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography
2018 Kunsthalle Basel Regionale 19 A Tooth for an Eye
2019 GALERIE MONIKA WERTHEIMER SOLO C41 2018 Photography on a Postcard at Photo London
2018 Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards Arles .2017 Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards .
2017 Photo Vogue in Portraits at Leica Galerie, Milano
2017 Exhibition HIER UND JETZT Portraits of patients and employees of the Palliativzentrum Hildegard in Basel Exhibited in Predigerkirche Basel
2016 / 2017 Taylor Wessing photographic Portrait Prize
2016 National Portrait Gallery | London | First prize 2015 Escassez|Desperdício Syngenta Photography Awards
2015 Syngenta Photography Awards CCSP Centro Cultural São Paulo
2015 Aff Galerie FOG Magazins
2015 Portrait Salon Embassy Tea Gallery London 2015 Galerie BOHAI FOG: Excerpts 2015 aff Galerie Magazinpräsentation FOG Magazin
2015 Centro Cultural de São Paulo Syngenta Photography Award ‘Scarcity-Waste
2015 Museum of African Design Johannesburg Curate Life Collection competition
2015 Syngenta Photography Award Exhibition Scarcity-Waste
2015 Exposure Awards 2014 Lensculture
2014 at Photolondon Solo Exhibition oslo8 contemporary photography
2014 Photobastei, Oslo8 contemporary photography, Basel, Zürich Cheltenham Art Gallery
2014 Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
2013 The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. National Portrait Gallery London 2013 Going Places. Reise ins anderswo. iaab Basement, Basel
2012 Hasselblad Masters Finalist.
2011 The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. National Portrait Gallery London 2011 Fotolabor Pascale Brügger, Kunstfreilager Dreispitz Basel
2011 Hasselblad Masters Finalist 10 Best Portrait photographers Ausstellung
2011 Photobook Days, Deichtorhallen Hamburg
2010 Gallery 1839 Soho, London
2010 Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington