Awards
Core Program, Ballerat International Foto Biennale 2012
September Song International Photography Award, 2000
Runner Up, Australian Advertising Photographer of the Year, AIPP, 1999
APPA Gold Award, 1999
MasterAIPP, 1997
APPA Silver Awards, 1984-1996
Ilford Trophy, 1990
Kodak Photographic Achievement Award, 1986
CLIENT LIST includes
George Patterson Bates, Clemenger Australia, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ken Cato Design, CPd LImited, Mullan Design Partners, RGS Communications, Fosters Group, National Australia Bank, Miele, Coles, Telstra, Kraft, Australia Post, Seven Network, Shell, Cadbury, Dulux, Whiltshire, Diners Club, Ilford(Aust), Tanoa Hotel Group (Fiji), Deeko, Franklin Mint, McCormack Foods, Campbell's Soups, Vicroads, Uncle Tobys, Crown Casino, Tiger Beer, Bintang/Heinekin
exhibitions
Momentum of the River's Flow, Core Program, Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Solo Exhibition, 2011
Momentum of the River's Flow, Bui Gallery, Hanoi, Solo Exhibition, 2010
The Minefield and the Lotus, Red Gallery, Solo Exhibition, 2010
Just Another Empty Room, Field 36, Group Exhibition, 2009
Whispers of the Landscape, Field 36, Solo Exhibition, 2009
Up Front, Field 36, Group Exhibition, 2008
DUX Contributors Exhibition, Photographers Gallery, Melbourne, Group Exhibition, 1997
Commercial Photography Internationale Korean Professional Photographers Association, Korea, Group Exhibition, 1996
Images Alive, Westpac Gallery, Group Exhibition, 1996
Graduate Retrospective, RMIT Gallery, Group exhibition, 1986
Graduating with a BA (Photography) from RMIT University, Les Horvat worked at the leading edge of commercial/advertising photography for over twenty years; drawing clients from top Australian and overseas design studios and advertising agencies.
"To make an image that looks great isn't enough. To make it look great and fulfill the parameters of a brief - that's what I believe commercial image creation is all about”
During this time he won numerous awards including the Kodak Professional Photography Achievement Award, Gold and Silver at the Australian Professional Photography Awards, and was accepted into the Fuji ACMP Collection. In 1999 he also achieved Masters status, within the Australian peak photographic industry body, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography.
For many years, specializing in studio based photography, Les operated in a studio complex that he established in inner Melbourne, known as Twilightzone Studios. This studio operated as a hub for photographers and others working within the commercial advertising and design industry.
"I wanted to create a space that not only functioned as a home for myself and other photographers, but was also most importantly, a fun place to be."
In 2002 he took up a position at RMIT University as Program Manager for BA (Photography) in the School of Creative Media, later to become Director of Programs across the school, and for a period Acting Head of School. Throughout his time there - in a very welcome return to his "alma mater" - the BA (Photography) program became one of his main and most cherished responsibilities.
Whilst at RMIT he was also involved in the construction and accreditation of a number of new programs including the BA (Creative Media)(Honours), the Master of Creative Media (Coursework) and the BA (Creative Writing) programs. He also co-authored (with Mark Galer) a photographic text on digital imaging, published worldwide and translated into four languages (released in its third edition 2005).
In 2010, Les Horvat moved to Photography Studies College Melbourne (PSC) and was part of the team involved in the establishment and accreditation of the Bachelor of Photography degree Program. He was employed in the role of Academic Director at the college up until 2013 and currently holds the position of Senior Fellow and Chair of the PSC Academic Board.
Although involved in academia and education for many years, Les has continued to identify himself first and foremost as a photographer. Having completed his doctoral thesis in 2007 on the cultural effects impacting creative expression, Les has undertaken research on the pedagogy and social interactions behind creativity. He continues to pursue photographic projects exploring the social and cultural meanings behind photographic depictions of Asia and exhibits regularly in group and solo shows.
For a fully detailed CV, click here.