Martin Stranka

Martin Stranka is a self-taught professional photographer based in Prague. A native of the Czechia, Martin was born on April 13, 1984. Martin was a bored student plodding through courses in business school when the unexpected loss of a close friend led him to pursue photography as a form of therapy. That hobby turned into a passion and, eventually, a profession. His distinctive vision of the medium occupies a unique space of balance and serenity, with rich, complex imagery that seems to capture the fleeting moments between dreams and awakenings. Martin’s pieces are reminiscent of stills from a film that walks the line between fantasy and reality. He explores our fascination with the incomplete narrative. In his words: “In these deliberately unfinished visual stories, I’m searching for the boundary between aesthetic appeal and a dramatic scene.”

In recent years, Martin has won over 80 major international photography awards from various competitions, including the International Photography Awards™ held in New York at Carnegie Hall, where he was named Special Photographer of the Year in 2022. He’s also received awards from the Sony World Photography Awards (1st place, Open Creative category and National Award 2018 and 2019), the Ann...

self-taught professional photographer

2023 Christie's, First Open, British auction house, St James's, London, UK

2023 International Photography Awards, exhibitions around the world through the following year

2023 Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia

2022 BBA Photography Prize, Kühlhaus Berlin, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2022 Best of Show Exhibition, International Photography Awards, week of the Lucie Awards, New York City, USA

2022 Art for Amnesty, GALERIE NoD, Prague, Czech Republic

2022 Pop-Up show, Prague, Czech Republic

2022 Berlin Photo Week, Berlin Arena, BBA Gallery, "Boyhood", Berlin, Germany

2022 Le SALON, artwork showcase, SNAP! Orlando, Orlando, Florida, USA

2021 Dechem, re-opening, Mánes, Prague, Czechia
2021 SNAP! Orlando, Orlando, USA
2020 Dechem, Mánes, Prague, Czech
2019 Mixx Atelier, Telluride, Colorado, USA
2019 Harmony Art, Photofairs Shanghai
2019 Dorsett Wanchai, Hong Kong
2019 Dorsett Singapore, Singapore
2018 Scope Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2018 Sony World Photography Awards, UK
2018 Redondo Beach, California, USA
2018 We Are Drops, Sicily, Italy
2018 Voies Off festival, Arles, France
2018 World Financial Center, Shanghai
2018 Somerset House, WPO, Lo...