BIOGRAPHY

Joan Fontcuberta (Barcelona, 1955) has been active in the world of photography in a number of ways, as creator, teacher, critic and exhibit organizer. His work is extensive. He has been professor in various centers and universities in Europe and the U.S., contributor to publications specializing in art and the graphic image (Nueva Lente, Aperture, Afterimage, European Photography, Lápiz, etc.) In 1980 he co-founded the bilingual magazine (Spanish-English) Photovision, and continues as its chief editor. Currently he is Professor of Audiovisual Communications at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

As founder and promoter of numerous photographic events, in 1979, he organized "Jornadas Catalanas de Fotografía" (Daily Seminars on Photography in Catalonia) and "Primavera Fotográfica" (Photgraphy in Spring). In 1996 Joan Fontcuberta was named artistic director of the International Photography Festival of Arles.

Individual exhibits of his artistic work include the following: the George Eastman House (Rochester, 1985), Maeght Gallery (Barcelona, 1986), Folkwang Museum (Essen, 1987), Museum of Modern Art, New York (1988), the Photographers’ Gallery (London, 1988), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, 1988), Perspektief (Rotterdam, 1989), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Seville, 1989), Juana Mordó Gallery (Madrid, 1989), Musée Cantini (Marseilles, 1990), Art Institute of Chicago (1990), IVAM (Valencia, 1992), Parco Gallery (Tokyo, 1992), Antoni Estrany Gallery (Barcelona, 1993), Zabriskie Gallery (Paris and New York, 1993), Museo de Bellas Artes (Bilbao, 1995), Centro Internacional de Arte (Gijón, 1994), Museum Rupertinum (Salzburg, 1995), Alvar Aalto Museum (Jÿvaskÿla, Finland, 1995), Forum Gallery (Tarragona, 1996), Art and Technology Foundation of Telefónica (Madrid, 1997), Visor Gallery (Valencia, 1997), Musée de l’Elisée (Lausanne, 1999), Redpath Museum (Montreal, 1999), MNAC- Museo Nacional de Arte de Catalunya (Barcelona, 1999), Museum of Fine Arts (Fukui, Japan), MIDE (Cuenca, 1999), Sala Millares (Madrid, 2000), Presentation House (Vancouver, 2000), Bell Gallery (Providence, 2001), and Fundación Telefónica (Madrid, 2001).

His work has been acquired by public collections such as the Musée d’Art Moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; the National Gallery of Art, Ottawa; the Folkwang Museum, Essen; the Ludwig Museum, Cologne; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; the IVAM, Valencia; and the Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires.

Some of his key publications include the following: Herbarium (Gustavo Gili., Ed., Barcelona, 1984); Fauna (European Photography, Göttingen, 1987); Historia Artificial (IVAM, Valencia, 1992); La Fragua de Vulcano (Bilbao Bizkai Kutxa, Bilbao, 1994); L’artista e la fotografia (Mazzota, Milan, 1995); Wundergarten der Natur (Rupertinium Museum, Salzburg, 1995); Sputnik (Fundación Arte y Tecnología, Madrid, 1997); Micromegas (MIDE, Cuenca, 1999); Twilight Zones (Actar, Madrid, 2000); and Securitas (Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, 2001).

An expert in the history of Spanish photography in the twentieth century, Fontcuberta has organized numerous exhibits focussing on several of its aspects. These include the noteworthy Idas y Caos. Vanguardias fotográficas en España 1920-1945 ("The avant-garde in Spanish Photography"), presented in 1984 at the National Library in Madrid and at the International Photography Center in New York; also, Creación Fotográfica en España 1968-1988, presented at the Musée Cantini, Marseilles and at the Santa Monica Art Center, Barcelona. He has published several books on the topics of history, aesthetics and the pedagogy of photography. Among these include Estética Fotográfica: una selección de textos (Blume, Barcelona, 1984) and Fotografía: conceptos y procedimientos (Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1990). Recently two books of his essays have appeared, El beso de Judas. Fotografía y Verdad (Gustavo Gili, Ed., Barcelona, 1997) and Ciencia y fricción. Fotografía, naturaleza, artificio (Mestizo, Murcia, 1998).

Among his many honors: in 1988 Joan Fontcuberta was awarded the David Octavious Hill Medal by the Fotografisches Akademie GDL in Germany and in 1994 he was recognized as "Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the Ministry of Culture in France. Both of these awards were in recognition of his entire career in photography. In 1997 the Arts Council of England presented him with the "UK Year of Photography and Electronic Image Award". In 1998 he received the National Award for Photography in Spain, given by the Ministry of Culture.