Artist Statement
Ever since I began calling myself a photographer I’ve had the urge to make pictures of people but I’ve always been fascinated by the human face. About four years ago I thought of the idea to photograph people looking at themselves through a two-way mirror. I played with a couple ideas but couldn’t figure it out. I realized I simply wasn’t ready. Asking someone for their picture isn’t something I take lightly.
So in September 2011 I began experimenting with the mirror setup once again and by November 2011 I had a solution to be able to not only shoot with from my home studio but also travel anywhere in the world with it. Now the question has become, “What do people see when they look into their own eyes?” What do we see when we look in the mirror, and so far the results have been fascinating.
Process Statement
Over 150 people have participated from 2 – 82 years old including family, friends, actors, lawyers, priests, musicians, artists, photographers, professors, authors, addicts, cancer-survivors, poets, gallerists, students, conductors, models, first-time parents, among many others.
The idea behind photographing 500 individuals is to give an opportunity to those who are photographed often to experience a unique method of portraiture and to those who are rarely photographed to experience the sensation of being in front of a lens (although they can’t actually see it!). The second reason is to give the series enough time to mature and become something really special.
Juan Luis Garcia
b.1985
Los Angeles, CA
562.250.7090
mail@juanluisgarcia.com
Award-winning photographer, Juan Luis Garcia, has been photographing entertainers, family, strangers, and anybody he can for the past 8 years since the day the lightbulb went off. His obsession with faces has driven him to travel around the world from Australia to Dubai to Cuba portraying the people he encounters. His debut photo exhibition and monograph, CUBA y CUBANS, has garnered international acclaim and was awarded "Blurb.com's Book of the Week". Juan Luis' photographs have been published world-wide on magazine covers, newspapers, TV campaigns, fashion catalogs, cd covers, fine art photography catalogs, and more.
He is a founding member and curator of Hecho Con Ganas (hechoconganas.com), an organization conceived by friend; Ernesto Yerena.
Using a unique method of mirror portraiture, Juan Luis, is currently at work on "Face Value" a new portrait series examining the human face. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and neighbors.
Select Awards
2011 Excellence in Marketing, NAMIC / EMMA
2006 1st Prize, Portraiture, Brooks College
2005 1st Prize, Portraiture, Brooks College
Select Publications
2012 “CUBA y CUBANS”, TAKE Magazine Issue #2, Australia
2009 "Dia De Los Muertos", BELIO Magazine 030 Back to the Roots, Spain
2007 "EYEMAZING", Issue 03, 2006, The Netherlands
Solo Exhibition
2011 “CUBA y CUBANS” Debut solo exhibition and book published, Boyle Heights, CA, March 5, 2011
Select Group Exhibitions
2009 "Manifest Hope", Washington D.C. Gallery
2010, "Manifest Equality" Los Angeles Gallery
2011 "photo l.a. fine art exposition", Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
2012 "Yea BIG : small works", Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles
Monographs
2011 CUBA y CUBANS: Photographs by Juan Luis Garcia
2010 A sus órdenes jefe!!!: Juan Luis Garcia Photography
2009 Lo Qué Veo: fotos de mi vida diaria | What I see: photos from my daily life
2008 Smile and Look Alive: Photographs from 2004-2008
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