Miguel Rio Branco

MIGUEL RIO BRANCO (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1946).
"Hombre rueda", 2001.
Color photography on paper, copy 1/7.
Signed, dated, titled and justified on the back.
With Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) label on the back.
Work exhibited in "Perdidos en la ciudad", IVAM, 2016.
Measurements: 80 x 80 cm; 82 x 82 cm (frame).

From a very young age, Miguel Rio Branco resided in various countries such as Portugal, Switzerland, Brazil and the United States, due to his father's diplomatic profession. This circumstance molded in him a global conception of art, where movement across borders and spaces became an organic way of inhabiting the world. His photographic work focuses on the harsh reality of Brazil, addressing issues of violence, social inequality, poverty and the sensuality of the human body. He photographs favelas, working-class neighborhoods and brothels, revealing a brutal beauty and a dignity that emerges in adversity. The human body is a recurring motif in his work, explored in contexts of sensuality, vulnerability or violence. Rio Branco does not avoid images that may be disturbing, but uses them to generate a profound reflection on the fragility of life and the harshness of existence.

Miguel Rio Branco studied at the Institute of Photography in New York in 1966 and at the Superior School of Industrial Design in Rio de Janeiro in 1968. He began to dedicate himself to painting and in 1974 he held an exhibition of his paintings in Bern, Switzerland. He also collaborated in film productions, mainly as director of photography.