Artist and Fine Art Photographer

BIOGRAPHY

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Born in Johannesburg, South Africa (1963), Martin Osner opened his first photographic studio in Johannesburg (1985), quickly establishing a solid reputation as a professional photographer and artist. In 1993, he moved to Pretoria and co-founded the National College of Photography, now recognised as a premier photographic training institution in Southern Africa under Advtech (Vega school). During this period, he continued to run his commercial photography studio and earned numerous professional photography awards.

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In 2008, Osner relocated to Cape Town to establish a photographic art gallery, which opened under his name in 2010. At the same time, he decided to end his commercial photography pursuits to dedicate his full creative energy to art. In 2013, he opened the Martin Osner Photography School in Hout Bay, allowing him to continue teaching. Shortly afterwards, in 2012, Canon Europe invited him to participate in a brand video production, Power to Your Next Step – landscape and portrait photography, packaged with new DSLR Canon cameras as an instructional aid. He also served as a Canon Ambassador / Explorer for seven years.

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By May 2017, Osner expanded his Cape Town gallery and rebranded it as the Art Photography Gallery. Later that year, with his daughter, Samantha Lee Osner, he opened The Osner Exclusive in Hout Bay—a more intimate space showcasing his exhibition work and their father-daughter collaborations. In 2019, he co-founded the Art Photography Academy—based in Germany and Cape Town—to teach photography and fine art photography online while providing an international support community for photographers and artists. In 2023, he launched a countryside gallery in Napier in the Western Cape, featuring collaborative work between father and daughter.

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Over the past twenty-five years, Osner has taught hundreds of aspiring professional photographers and thousands of enthusiastic amateurs. In his work, he shuns straightforward photography in favour of an artistic vision that reflects his visual understanding and spiritual appreciation of the world. A multi-award-winning artist—named Best Contemporary International Artist 2008/2009 by Arteque Art Volume 3 (Masters of Today)—Osner’s style is driven by an urge to explore, experiment, and create.

Concentrating on form, pattern, and shape, he believes simplicity is the cornerstone of successful imaging.

Osner attributes his style to several influences. The work of Henri Cartier-Bresson has inspired his social commentary and documentary photography, while the teachings of Ansel Adams inform his approach to landscapes. Many of his still-life and abstract studies have been described as painterly or expressionistic, reflecting the influence of artists such as Henri Matisse and Jackson Pollock.

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He also emphasises the profound peace he experiences in his creative process. Osner says, "I believe my steps have been guided along an inventive and purposed path by an awesome and caring God. I have never doubted my love for photography or my burning passion for art. It is something I could never stop. It’s what I do; it’s what I love; it’s who I am.”

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Today, Osner specialises in one-of-a-kind original paintings and mixed-media art alongside a contemporary portfolio of fine art photography. His collection includes limited edition giclée prints and traditional black-and-white vintage prints for collectors, ranging from emotive abstract compositions to atmospheric landscapes, social documentaries, and mixed-media pieces.

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