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Professional Biography
Ohm Phanphiroj began his professional career as an artist and photographer in 1997, while working on a graduate degree in filmmaking with the Oscar award winning filmmaker, Gary Moss. That same year Ohm was featured in the Dutch film journal, Screen Talk, as an up-and-coming filmmaker on the strength of his short art film, I Wish You Were in Hell. He continued producing short films, but wanted greater artistic control over the final product, something difficult to achieve in filmmaking since it depends on the input of so many individuals. This desire for greater artistic control drew Ohm to photography, which he found suited him more than filmmaking. His first series, “Strangers in the Night”, explored non-verbal communication and nocturnal human behavior. A series of black and white images of highly charged nighttime activity combined a cinematic style with an invitation to the viewer to explore more intimate aspects of the human psyche and human behavior. These photographs generated considerable interest in his work. This initial very successful series led in 1997 to his first exhibition at Fay Gold Gallery, one of Atlanta’s most prestigious galleries. That same year Ohm was inducted into the Phi Beta Delta National Honor Society for International Scholars
Ohm’s work has generated ever greater interest from galleries, magazines, and private collectors. Awards include the Golden Light Awards and Ernst Grant competition award in 1997; Photo District News in 1999, 2000, and 2001; Photo Forum national photographic competition in 1998, and 2000; Art Director’s Club Award in 2000; Applied Art Magazine Award in 2000; and Epson Award in 2001. In addition, his work has been very favorably reviewed in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Atlanta Journal and Constitution in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003; Art Papers magazine in 1999; Winston-Salem Journal in 1999; and Creative Loafing magazine in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003.
In 2000 Ohm completed his second Masters in Film at Georgia State University and received a scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in photography at the world renowned Rochester Institute of Technology. While there, he taught as an adjunct professor and exhibited his work at the Sex Museum in NYC. Barbara Bernstein, a curator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, met Ohm and, after reviewing his portfolio, characterized him as a first-class photographer who would achieve international recognition.
With this encouragement, Ohm moved to New York City and signed with Marge Casey + Associates, as well as with Sugarloaf in Australia, and the stock agencies Getty Images, Wire Images, and Wenn. Since then, his work has been featured in many publications, including Interview, Harper’s Bazaar, Wallpaper, Men’s Health, Cleo, Atlanta, Out, Genre, Esquire, Blue, Travel and Leisure, Mate, Expresso (Holland), and Pref (France). He was also appointed international fashion director of Esquire magazine, Asia section, from 1997-2000; and he is currently Fashion and Creative Director of Qr magazine and a correspondent for MATE magazine, Germany. In 2003 Genre magazine named Ohm Phanphiroj one of twelve influential photographers, and Out magazine named his second photo book, Rare Views, one of the best photo books of 2006.
Monographs published since 1997 include Rough Stuff, Rare Views, and Night Hawks. Ohm’s work is also featured in four anthologies: Visions (2006), Mien Schwules Auge 4 (2007), Night Visions (2008), and Nerve Photo Book (2008). He is currently at work on his fourth monograph to be published summer 2008.
Currently Ohm holds the position of lecturer in photography at Assumption University and at Rangsit University in Thailand.
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