José Bacelar
Porto (PT) 1971
He is a photographer and currently lives in Porto. He holds a Master’s degree in Documentary Photography from the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, and a PhD in Information Sciences, specialising in Audiovisual Studies with a focus on Photography, Contemporary Art and Aesthetics, from Fernando Pessoa University, Porto.
He began his career as a documentary photographer but gradually moved away from the media, starting to develop personal projects that culminate in books or exhibitions. He produces black-and-white images with strong contrast and heavy grain, creating a dramatic and intense effect. Following a style close to documentary, yet at times conceptual, his work is a record of life in its public and private contexts. José Bacelar sees photography as life itself, using it to understand himself and the world, pushing it to the limits of his quests, questions and experiences.
His work has been published in specialist books and magazines and is held in private and public collections both nationally and internationally.
He has won several awards, the most recent being “Best Photographic Work”, awarded by the Portuguese Society of Authors in 2024.
In 2016, he published his latest book, “(O)Porto”, and is currently working on a new publishing project.
In recent years, he has exhibited in London, Paris, Oslo, Lisbon, Riga, Porto, Braga, Coimbra and Arles, amongst many other locations.
He began his career as a documentary photographer but gradually moved away from the media, starting to develop personal projects that culminate in books or exhibitions. He produces black-and-white images with strong contrast and heavy grain, creating a dramatic and intense effect. Following a style close to documentary, yet at times conceptual, his work is a record of life in its public and private contexts. José Bacelar sees photography as life itself, using it to understand himself and the world, pushing it to the limits of his quests, questions and experiences.
His work has been published in specialist books and magazines and is held in private and public collections both nationally and internationally.
He has won several awards, the most recent being “Best Photographic Work”, awarded by the Portuguese Society of Authors in 2024.
In 2016, he published his latest book, “(O)Porto”, and is currently working on a new publishing project.
In recent years, he has exhibited in London, Paris, Oslo, Lisbon, Riga, Porto, Braga, Coimbra and Arles, amongst many other locations.