José María de Orbe

José María de Orbe is a cinematographer and photographer who lives between San Luis Menorca, Barcelona, and Asigarraga San Sebastian. He has studios in the three places.

His work has been exhibited in cinemas, film libraries and museums in more than 70 countries. Among them, the MOMA of New York, The Tate Modern of London and the Sydney Australia Museum of modern Art.

He has obtained numerous prizes and mentions in the most important cinema festivals in the world. His cinematographic and photographic work are very related with one another.

His images – hovering between reality and fiction – question time, memory and our perception of the world. The obsessive presence of the home with its inhabitants always absent, and with its phantoms occupying their place, endow his work with an almost tangible beauty where signs of small suspense narratives emerge. Also he cultivates landscapes, with a dreamlike treatment, and pays homage to the classic works, of both the cinema and painting.

Exhibited Works

• “Paisaje imaginario de Menorca-Costa Norte#1”, diptych, CMYK print, light box, LED, 2010. Courtesy of the artist.
• Series “The neighbor’s project”, silver salts in gelatin on Baryta paper, 2014. Courtesy of the artist.