Roman Gilz (born 1970 in Otterndorf, Lower Saxony, Germany) is a photographer, artist, and visual storyteller whose practice spans portraiture, fine nude art, editorial, and conceptual work.
Gilz’s photographic journey began in 1988 with formal training under Wulf Eike Naumann in Hamburg. He started working as a photographer in 1992, opening his first studio in Hamburg (Hasselbrook and St. Georg) while also collaborating with photographers such as Daniel Josefsohn, Felix Lammers, and Werner Gritzbach. During the 1990s, he expanded into freelance photography and camerawork, alongside projects in tonstudio, set construction, and television production.
From 1996 onward, Gilz built a versatile body of work that included editorial assignments for major publications such as Stern, Wiener, Für Sie, Yacht, Gruner + Jahr, Heinrich Bauer Verlag, Burda Verlag, Axel Springer Verlag, Jahreszeiten Verlag, and Pro7, as well as commissioned campaigns for brands including Maserati, Öger Tours, Intersport, Lenffer, Kerry Logistics, GWG, and Hanseatic Bank.
In 2001 Gilz co-founded Gilz-Art (with Karl-Heinz Gilz), where he served as Art Director and Web Designer through 2012, while continuing his photographic work. His artistic focus broadened to include art, erotica, and fine nude photography—an approach he continues to develop.
Since 2018, Gilz has been co-founder of the artist collective GOTT&GILZ with Gordan Nikolic, exhibiting in galleries across Germany, including Berlin and Hamburg. In 2020 he began directing the Virtual Reality – NFT Museum Hamburg, merging technology with contemporary art. As of 2023, he is based in Soltau.
His work has also been published in artist monographs, including GOTT & GILZ: Supernatural Beings and GOTT&GILZ: F.O.T.Z.E.N – Female Outstanding Talents, Zeniths of Emerging Notoriety (DCV Books), which document and contextualize the collaborative artistic practice of GOTT&GILZ.
Gilz’s work is characterized by its emphasis on presence, authenticity, and emotional subtlety, exploring the spaces between confidence and vulnerability. His images have been recognized with honors including LensCulture Editor’s Pick (2024) and ranking in the Top 10 German Erotic Photographers by art – Das Kunst Magazin (2014).
