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Alejandro Gortazar Male London-Havana United Kingdom: Share on Facebook

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Welcome! www.gortazar.net

Profile Information

Website: http://www.gortazar.net

Relationship status: married

Member type: Artist

If you're an artist, what kind of art do you make?: Photography

I am...: A Cuban Professional Photographer living between London and Havana.

Inspired by the beauty of his home island, Gortazar shares with us the land he knows and loves so well, its excess energy, the radiance that dominates its mornings, the scent of the sea… His photography demonstrates that is possible to bring things to a halt and maintain their multidimensionality, richly capturing an ephemeral instant, because that is the essence of the photographer: “the eternal hunter”, he says. In his new exhibition, Gortazar wants to connect the viewer with the essential in life: the vibrancy, peacefulness, and absolute perfection of natural beauty. He captures the energy and luminosity of Cuba and its people living in harmony with their natural environment. “They may have old clothes but they also have real happiness”, he reflects. This exhibition is a reminder of the importance of living with simplicity and appreciation of the true richness all around us, of living respecting and valuing nature.

Congruent with his naturalistic style, Gortazar rejected conventional classroom and book learning and he learnt from experienced colleagues basic photographic concepts, techniques and processes, which he later developed. Through years of committed practice, he perfected the skills and knowledge characteristic of his work, such as his intimate understanding of light and how to transform it, the balance of perspective, composition, framing and volume, and visual language.

Previously based in Havana and recently moved to London, Gortazar has been a well-established professional photographer for over ten years. During the course of his career, he has worked in a wide variety of fields: as photography consultant and main photographer of a magazine (a Cuban-Canadian collaboration) and fashion photographer; preparing exhibitions, and as official photographer for events of different kinds (corporate, entertainment, personal). Above all, granted special permits he travelled incessantly to discover and rediscover protected nature reserves, accessing parts of the island rarely discovered by both foreign and local visitors, which continued to fuel his passion for nature photography.

About my artwork: Exhibitions

March 2010 "Celebrating Cuba: 50 Years of the Cuban Revolution", London

January 2010 “New Horizons” Club Havana, Cuba

December 2009 “Two Islands” Lavanta Galleria, Northampton

November 2009 “Cuba Treasured Island” Opus, London

January-April 2008 “Isle of Youth, paradise of dreams II” Pain de Paris, Havana

July-October 2006 “The Malecón of my Habana” Pain de Paris, Havana

December 2004 “Cumulus” Museum of the Revolution
Old Havana

November 2004 “Cumulus” Fama Galery, Old Havana

May-June 2003 “My People” House of Culture San Agustín, Havana

January 1999-March 2002 “Lighthouses, guardians of the waters” Castle of los Tres Reyes del Morro

Prominent Photographic Series

"Cape San Antonio, going after the treasure", 2010
“Rhossili”, 2009
“Brighton, a new shore” , 2009
“Cayo Santa Maria, arenas virgenes” (Saint Maria Caye, virgin sands), 2009
“Matanzas, ciudad de los puentes” (Matanzas, city of bridges), 2008
“La finca del Puya” (Puya country estate), 2008
“Isla de la Juventud paraíso de los sueños II” (Isle of Youth, paradise of dreams II), 2008
“Las parrandas de Remedios” (Remedios town festivities), 2007
“El malecón de mi Habana” (The Malecón of my Habana), 2006
“Entre campos y ciudades” (Between country-sides and cities), 2004
“Paisajes de mi Cuba” (Lanscapes of my Cuba), 2003
“Isla de la Juventud, paraíso de los sueños I” (Isle of Youth, paradise of dreams I), 2000
“Faros guardianes de las aguas” (Lighthouses, guardians of the waters) 1999
“Cúmulos” (Cumulus), 1999
“Cabo Corrientes, una playa al final del Cabo” (Cape Corrientes, a beach at the end of
the Cape), 1999

www.gortazar.net

N.B. All photographs are carefully printed by the author on high grade archival matte or satin paper with Vivera pigment inks, to make them museum-quality prints with exceptional fade resistance of more than 200 years. They are in limited editions of 25 accompanied by the author’s certificates of authenticity.

Interests: People
Nature
Photography
Life
Art
Family
Beauty
Music
Travel
(All of the above is equally important to me, i.e. the order does not denote priority)

What exhibitions are good at the moment?: Cuba Treasured Island

A photographic exhibition of Cuban landscape, wildlife and people by Alejandro Gortazar.

This exhibition reveals a Cuba beyond the clichés of salsa, decaying buildings, cigars and revolution. Gortazar, who was born in Havana, was granted special permission to visit protected nature reserves which are inaccessible to visitors. His images capture the timeless essence of his homeland, including such natural wonders as the bee hummingbird, the Cuban woodpecker, wild horses and the Isle of Youth. This really is Cuba as you have never seen it before.

Alejandro Gortazar came to London from Havana in June 2009. He has worked as a professional photographer for over ten years in Cuba, as a freelance photographer for the fashion industry, corporate and personal events and, for the last two years, as consultant on a Cuban-Canadian magazine. His passion, however, has always been nature photography and he has travelled the island incessantly, exploring remote areas rarely discovered by both foreign and local visitors. Gortazar captures the energy and luminosity of Cuba, with its people living in harmony with their natural environment. "They may have old clothes but they also have real happiness," he says.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, there have been a series of cultural events throughout the year, this photographic exhibition brings to London yet another facet of Cuban art and culture. Gortazar displays his self-developed professionalism and talent, his intimate knowledge of light and how to transform it and his extraordinary patience and insatiable pleasure for photography. This exhibition offers a glimpse of the true treasure that to him constitutes Cuba, "bastion of struggle, sacrifice, culture, nature and love".

Dates
Cuba, Treasured Island opens the 2nd of November, 2009, and lasts until the 22nd. Opus opening times are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sundays 12 to 5pm.

For further information please visit Alejandro Gortazar's website, or contact info@gortazar.net (+447869004480)

Opus, 10-13 King Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8HN

Centre of the artworld:: London, my studio, online, nowhere and everywhere, another city

EL Pueblito Paisa, Seven Sisters, London N15 5BT

After a year of comings and goings between Cuba and the UK, I have finally found a space in London that makes me feel like home. Having searched across North and East London for a commercial space the last three months, he fell in love with El Pueblito Paisa (Seven Sisters Indoor Market); full of the vibrancy of Latin America and the Caribbean: Colombian, Brazilian, Jamaican, Guyanan, and now Cuban, cultures blend in this very unique Market.

Following an exhausting two weeks, the complete refurbishment of Unit 43 has been acomplished and I have finally opened the doors of my small studio-gallery to the public.

Address:
43 Seven Sisters Indoor Market
231-243 High Road, London N15 5BT
**Just 1 minute from Seven Sisters underground station (exit 4)

Contact:
Spanish 07869004480
English 07730954644

El Pueblito Paisa opening hours are:
Monday 9.00am-6.00pm
Tuesdays to Thursdays 9.00am-7.00pm
Fridays and Saturdays 9.00am-9.00pm
Sundays closed

Hope to see you there!!

Alejandro Gortazar
Professional Photographer
www.gortazar.net
07869004480

Alejandro Gortazar's Photos

Alejandro Gortazar's Videos

Cuba Treasured Island

Added by Alejandro Gortazar
Celebrating Cuba: 50 Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution

Added by Alejandro Gortazar

Alejandro Gortazar's Blog

Maasai

On Tuesday 13th November (6.30-8.30pm), following the successful opening of 13 The Gallery and his exhibition Cuba Treasured Island, Cuban photographer Alejandro Gortazar will present:

Maasai

The theme of this new exhibition tells us of Gortazar's first journey to Africa, a Kenyan bush safari that took him into Maasai lands. The Maasai are known to be fierce warriors but thy are astute cattle-keepers, one stated: "the red…

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Posted on November 11, 2012 at 23:30 — 2 Comments

Affordable Art Fair

Find unique hand-made designer jewellery & notebooks, printed fabrics, postcards & photographs, linos, indigenous wayuu arts & crafts, prints & paintings & more from artists:

Maria Masullo (Italy)

Anne-Sophie Trinidade (France)

Lina Maria Posada (Colombia

Holly Lawrence (UK)

Alex Piros (Germany) (in collaboration with Finnish designer Paula Tuomela)

Carole Villain (France)

Kruti Patel (UK/India)

Angeli…

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Posted on November 8, 2012 at 22:17

Local Affordable Art Fair @ 13 The Gallery

Call for artists to bring their art for sale at this local affordable art fair

10th & 11th November, 2012

You will bring your own table (aprox 120cmx60-80cm), you will also have the space on the wall behind your table (140cmx280cm) to hang your work; we will help you with this.

13 The Gallery -chosen by Whitechapel Gallery as one of the top five in London right now …

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Posted on October 30, 2012 at 20:56

Cuba through an artist's eye - By New Worker correspondent

WE SAW another glimpse of Cuba through the eyes of famed Cuban photographer Alejandro Gortazar when a new collection of 50 images of the island and its people was launched in London’s Bolivar Hall last week. Alejandro’s eye captures light, people and nature and freezes it with his lens to provide a unique glimpse of life on the revolutionary island and he’s won critical acclaim following his first exhibition in London last November.

The Cuban photographer, who now divides his time between… Continue

Posted on March 4, 2010 at 14:30

Celebrating Cuba - 50 Years of Revolution - photography exhibition

Celebrating Cuba - 50 Years of Revolution - photography exhibition

Photography exhibition

2 March 2010 - 4 March 2010

Details

A specially commissioned exhibition by Cuban photographer Alejandro Gortazar featuring 50 beautiful images celebrating Cuba and the lives of its people. Alejandro is a widely exhibited professional photographer with over 10 years' experience. He has travelled across the island photographing key moments, people and… Continue

Posted on February 22, 2010 at 21:30

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At 7:45 on October 16, 2009, Rhenna said…: Dear Alejandro,
Thank you for adding me as a friend. I wsih you luck with your exhibition which sounds very interesting. I will look out for your work.