Paul Blanca (1958), official name Paul Vlaswinkel, is a Dutch art photographer who had a breakthrough in the early 1980s with his confrontational violent self-portraits, with strong emotions and violent themes like fear, sadness, pain, agression and sexuality exploring his inner demons. Diametrically against this harsh work, there are the sensitive and gentle pictures like the one called ‘Mother and Son’ (Mapplethorpe’s favourite) depicting himself in a tender embrace with his mother, both fully naked, or the portrait holding his newborn son in the air called ‘Father and Son’. (paulblanca.com)





Works: © Paul Blanca, courtesy Witzenhausen Gallery