EN_JPCortes – Galeria Francisco Fino

José Pedro Cortes

PRESENTATION

José Pedro Cortes (Porto, Portugal, 1976) studied at Kent Institute of Art and Design (Master of Arts in Photography) in the UK.

José Pedro Cortes (Porto, Portugal, 1976) studied at Kent Institute of Art and Design (Master of Arts in Photography) in the UK. In 2005, after 3 years living in London, he moved back to Lisbon and was part of Gulbenkian Creativity and Artistic Creation Program in Photography. On that same year, Cortes had his first solo exhibitions at Centro Português de Fotografia and Silo Gallery, both in Porto, Portugal. In that year, Cortes was also selected for the Photo London – Emerging Artists Presentations and, in 2006, took part in the Getty Images curated exhibition New Photographers 2007.

Since then Cortes had several institutional solo exhibitions, namely ‘One’s Own Arena’ at Museu da Eletricidade/MAAT, (Lisbon, 2015), ‘Costa’ at CGAC – Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (Santiago de Compostela, 2015) and in 2018 ‘A Necessary Realism’, a major exhibition at MNAC, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, spanning 15 years of work.

Other exhibitions included Museu da Imagem (Braga, 2006), Módulo – Centro Difusor de Arte (Lisbon, 2008, 2010), White Space Gallery (London, 2006), CAV – Centro de Artes Visuais (Coimbra, 2013), Robert Morat Galerie (Berlin, 2015 and 2022) or Galeria Francisco Fino (Lisbon, 2018 and 2021) and Escola das Artes, UCP (Porto, 2021).

Cortes was also one of the photographers for EPEA – European Photo Exhibition Award 01, with work shown in four European venues in 2012 an 2013 (Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany, Centre Gulbenkian Paris, France, Fondazione Monte di Luca, Italy, and Oslo Peace Center, Norway); was also chosen for the project European Eyes on Japan 2014 (with book and exhibition); and O Processo SAAL: Arquitectura e Participação, 1974-1976, with work shown at Museu de Serralves, and at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Toronto. In 2014 Cortes participated in the event Live Editing Show at LE BAL, Paris, where visitors could produce a book in collaboration with the artist. In 2014, he was shortlisted for the BESPhoto award with exhibitions at Museu Berardo, Lisbon, and Instituto Tomie Ohtake, in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2016 was one of the commissioned artists for the BF16 – Bienal de Fotografia de Vila Franca de Xira with his installation Reinforced Concrete.

In 2018, the prestigious 1000 Words Magazine, selected José Pedro Cortes as one of the 10 photographers who have built significant bodies of work and emerged as increasingly influential practitioners, from 2008 to 2018.

From the beginning of his career, Cortes sees the book form as an important medium in presenting his work. His has published Silence (2005), Things Here and Things Still to Come (2011; included in ‘Photobook: A History Vol.III’), Costa (2013) and One’s Own Arena (2015) and A Necessary Realism, published in 2018, an overview of his work, with essays by Shoair Mavlian, Julião Sarmento, David Santos and Nuno Crespo. All his books were published by Pierre von Kleist editions, a publishing house that he co-founded and directs from Lisbon, with more than 45 books published.

Apart from his artistic work, Cortes regularly collaborates with magazines like Numéro Homme, Apartmento or Fraulein Magazine.

His work is held in many public and private collections and is represented by Galeria Francisco Fino (Lisboa, Portugal) and Robert Morat Galerie (Berlin, Germany).

BIOGRAPHY

Bio & Full CV | Download

Born in 1976, in Porto, Portugal.
He lives and works in Lisbon.

EDUCATION

2006 – Programa Gulbenkian de Criatividade e Criação Artística, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, PT.
2004 – Master of Arts (Hons.) Photography, Kent Institute of Art and Design, UK.
1999 – Cinema Studies, Cineclube do Porto, Porto, PT.

SOLO SHOWS

2018
Um Realismo Necessário, MNAC – Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado, Lisbon, PT.
Planta Espelho, Galeria Francisco Fino, Lisbon, PT.

2016
Reinforced Concrete, curated by David Santos, Bienal de Vila Franca de Xira, Vila Franca de Xira, PT.

2015
Valor de Face, Galeria Pedro Alfacinha, Lisbon, PT.
One’s own arena, Fundação EDP, Lisbon, PT.
Costa, Robert Morat Galerie, Berlin, DE.

2013
Smell of Tiger and Things Here, Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra, PT.
Costa, Carpe Diem – Arte e Pesquisa, Lisbon, PT.
Things Here + Empty Yard, CAAA, Guimarães, PT.

2011
Things here and things still to come, Museu Nogueira da Silva, Braga, PT.
Moi, un Blanc, Módulo – Centro Difusor de Arte, Lisbon, PT.

2008
Like an empty yard(II), Módulo – Centro Difusor de Arte, Lisbon, PT.
I Will Not Reveal You, Art Form, Estoril, PT.

2007
Like an empty yard, Galeria Jorge Shirley, Lisbon, PT.

2006
Silence, Museu da Imagem, Braga, Portugal.
Jose Pedro Cortes: Silence – Photography + Video, White Space Gallery, London, UK.

2005
I Will Not Reveal You, Centro Português de Fotografia, Oporto, PT.
Silence, Silo Espaço Cultural, Porto, PT.

GROUP SHOWS (SEL.)

2020
Homebound, Francisco Fino Gallery, Lisbon, PT.

2019
Da Cor / Das Cores – Verde, Escola das Artes da Universidade Católica do Porto, 3rd International Conference on Green Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Oporto, Portugal.
O Olhar Divergente. As Residências Artísticas do Pico do Refúgio como património prospetivo, ARQUIPÉLAGO – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, São Miguel, Açores, PT.

2018
A Preto & Branco na Colecção da Fundação PLMJ, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, Lisbon, PT.

2017
Morphogenesis, Galeria Francisco Fino, Lisbon, PT.

2016
Da Fuga e do Encontro: Inversões do Olhar – Obras da Coleção de Fotografia do Novo Banco, Espaço Novo Banco, Lisbon, PT.

2015
Edita: Secuencia/Sentido, CGAC – Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo, S.Compostela, ES.

2014
SAAL: Arquitectura e Participação, Museu Serralves, Porto, PT.
BESPhoto 2014, Museu Berardo, Portugal; Instituto Tomie Ohtake, S.Paulo, BR.
Levante, Galerie 12mail, Paris, FR.

2013
A Arca Invisível, Residência Fundação EDP no Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, PT.

2012
European Photo Exhibition Award, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, DE
Centre Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris, FR.
Peace Center, Oslo, NO.
European Eyes on Japan, Vetrinj Mansion, Maribor, SL.

2010
Private Lives, Centro Cultural de Cascais, Cascais, PT.
Exposição #05: ENCONTRO: entre a paisagem e a abstracção, BES Arte & Finança, Lisbon, PT.

2008
Paisagem e Povoamento, Centro Cultural Emmérico Nunes, Sines, PT.

2007
On the Road: Remenbering Jack Kerouac, Espaço Avenida, Lisbon, PT
FotoFestiwal, Lodz, Poland.
Homos Migratius, Fundação Calouste Gulbekian, Lisbon, PT.

2006
A Fotografia Revolucionária, Fundação Eugénio de Almeida, Évora, PT.
New Photographers 2007, Cannes Lions Festival, FR.

2005
Intermix’05 (video), Pavillion, Leeds, UK.
Crossing Borders – Big M (video), ISIS Arts, Newcastle, UK.
Descubrimientos PhotoEspaña – Proyecciones Santa Ana, Madrid, ES.

2004
Colecção Nacional: Aquisições Recentes, Centro Português de Fotografia, Porto, PT

PUBLICATIONS

A Necessary Realism, MNAC / Pierre Von Kleist editions, 2018.
One’s own arena, Pierre von Kleist editions, 2015.
Costa, Pierre von Kleist editions, 2013.
Things here and Things still to come, Pierre von Kleist editions, 2011.
Silence, Pierre von Kleist editions, 2006.

CATALOGUES (SEL.)

Fotografia: Modo de Usar, Novo Banco/Documenta, 2015.
Photobook: A history – Volume III, Phaidon, 2014.
SAAL: Arquitectura e Participação, Museu Serralves, 2014.
European Eyes on Japan Vol. 14, Eu-Japan Fest, 2012.
European Photo Exhibition Award, Kerber Verlag, 2012.
Arte em Portugal – A Fotografia Portuguesa, Ed. por Maria Carmo Serén, 2009.
Paisagem e Povoamento, Ed. Centro Cultural Emmérico Nunes, 2008.
Fundação PLMJ, 2010.
New Photographers 2007, Getty Images.
Fotografia Revolucionária, Fundação Eugénio Almeida, 2006.

AWARDS

2014
Nominee for the BesPhoto Award.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Fundação EDP, Lisboa, PT.
Centro de Artes Visuais, Coimbra, PT.
Colecção Nacional de Fotografia/Centro Português de Fotografia, Porto, PT.
Fundação PLMJ, Lisboa, PT.
Coleção Novo Banco, Lisboa, PT.