Ivan Rupeš is a Toronto-based photographer. In his work Rupeš examines intricacies of the human relationship with the environment. He is especially drawn to probing layered nuances and ironies in the ways humans alter their own habitat and are affected by it in return. Rupeš was born in what is now the Czech Republic as a grandson of a pioneer of modernist photography Jaromír Funke. Rupeš himself initially started out as a biomedical researcher whose career brought him first to the USA and then to Canada. In Canada he gradually segued back to photography, first shooting outdoor sports such as cycling, a line of work that continues in partnership with Ontario Cycling Association and Cycling Canada. At present he takes on documentary projects both in Canada and around the world. Rupeš's first solo show “Unfinished Stories” took place at Galerie Klatovy Klenová, Klatovy, Czech Republic, in 2020. His recent work among the indigenous peoples of the mountains of the northern Philippines is being presented at the Earth Photo Exhibition at various venues in the UK between June 2021 and April 2022. He is a member of G44 Centre for Contemporary Photography.
Solo exhibition:
- "Unfinished Stories", Galerie Klatovy Klenová, Czech Republic (May 16 – July 12, 2020)
Group exhibitions:
- Contact Photography Festival Spectra 2024, 918 Bathurst Centre for Culture, Arts, Media and Education, Toronto, On (May 15 – May 26, 2024)
- Contact Photography Festival Spectra 2022, Artscape Youngplace, Toronto, On (May 18 – June 5, 2022)
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2021 Earth Photo Exhibition, UK:
- Indoor exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), London (June 28 – August 25, 2021)
- Outdoor exhibition at Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire (June 28 – September 19, 2021)
- Outdoor exhibition at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Dorset (October 4 – December 19, 2021)
- Indoor exhibition at Grizedale, Cumbria (December 20, 2021 – April 24, 2022)
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Trieste Photo Fringe of URBAN Photo Awards 2021, Trieste, Italy:
- Trieste Airport – Part #02 (October 6 – November 30, 2021)
- Collective Exhibition @ Gran Bar Unità (October 1 – November 30, 2021)
- Spectra Contact 2020, Artscape Youngplace, Toronto, On (November 1 – 21, 2020)
- Jolana Havelková and Authors: "Six Postcards". The Brno House of Arts, The House of the Lords of Kunstadt, Brno, Czech Republic (June 9 – July 26, 2020)
- Jolana Havelková and Authors: “Six Postcards”. Postal Museum, Prague, Czech Republic (April 3 – July 7, 2019)
Recently featured in:
- Smithsonian Magazine 19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest - People, 2021
- LensCulture Magazine Street Photography 2021 Editors' picks
- F-Stop Magazine Issue #107 June - July 2021, Open Theme 2021 Group Exhibition
- PhotoEd Magazine Digital Edition Winter 2020/21
- Hana Jakubčíková Sádlíková: Na Purkrabství hradu Klenová vystavuje Ivan Rupeš, český fotograf trvale žijící v Kanadě. Novinky.cz, May 14, 2020 (“Klenová Castle presents Ivan Rupeš, Czech photographer living in Canada” - in Czech)
- Václav Podestát: Trpělivý pozorovatel, Artikl, April 7, 2020 (“Patient observer” - in Czech)
- Oko! Magazine March 2019, cover photo
Editorial photos appeared in:
Canadian Cyclist
Canadian Cycling Magazine
Triathlon Magazine
Pedal Magazine
La Presse
CBC
Essentially Sports
Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Sportspage
Ottawa Sun
Hamilton Spectator
and others
Photo © Elena Korenbaum