Miguel Gómez (born March 29, 1974) is a

Colombian-American Colombian Americans ( es, Colomboestadounidenses), are Americans who trace their ancestry to Colombia. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of full or partial Colombian descent or to someone who has immigrated to the United St ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and visual artist, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, whose style is marked by/best known for his work in

fine art photography Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

, editorial and landscape photography. Gómez currently works between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Early life and education

He completed his primary and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Colegio San Carlos Colegio San Carlos is an all-male, private, bilingual (English and Spanish) school in Bogotá, Colombia. The school has been recognized as one of the sources of many national leaders. The school works under the auspice of the local Roman Catholi ...

, a bilingual

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

which he attended from 1981 to 1992 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, Colombia. After graduating from high school, Gómez enrolled in the Architecture School of

's Universidad de Los Andes and eventually continued and completed his studies at

Jorge Tadeo Lozano University Jorge Tadeo Lozano University is a private university whose main campus is located in Bogotá, Colombia, with satellite campuses in Cartagena, Santa Marta and Chía. Established in 1954, the institution was named after the botanist, scientist a ...

from 1994 to 1999, earning a Professional (Bachelor of Arts) Degree in Advertising with an emphasis in Graphic Design. While at advertising school, Gómez decided to put all his efforts into pursuing a career in photography. However, his work in the medium dates as early as 1989, when he was 15 years old. During 1991–1992 (his last two high school years), this dedication grew significantly, and he spent almost every day after school in the darkroom, processing film rolls he had shot with a complete 35mm kit. Gomez's initial photographic interests were based on deadpan views of the street, architecture and urban landscapes. Later on, while working as an assistant photographer (while still being a university student), Gómez established direct contact with commercial photography, agencies, fashion shoots and larger productions. In 1998, he upgraded from the smaller 35mm film format to

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&nbs ...

and

large format Large format refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120- and 220-roll film), and much larger than the frame ...

, and by 2000 started working with

digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image ...

. As a consequence of the exploration of the possibilities these formats gave, his body of work evolved and embraced broader topics.

Career

Gómez's first editorial commission was for '' Architectural Digest'' Magazine / Latin American Edition. He provided work for almost every major publication in Bogotá for more than 5 years and for advertising agencies such as Lowe & Partners/SSP3, (now

MullenLowe Group MullenLowe Group is a global integrated marketing communications network headquartered in London. It is a part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), and consists of four divisions: MullenLowe, MullenLowe Comms, Mediahub, and MullenLowe P ...

), Bates and

Ogilvy & Mather Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based advertising agency, agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging wit ...

. Subsequently his photographs were featured in some of the most important Colombian magazines: ''

Fucsia ''Fucsia'' ( es, Fuchsia) is a Colombian-based monthly magazine. It is the leading women's fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion ...

'', ''

Cromos ''Cromos'' is a Colombian varieties and photojournalism magazine, known for widely covering the Miss Colombia pageant on editions called ''Mini Cromos''. The magazine was founded in 1916 by Miguel Santiago Valencia and Abelardo Arboleda, both fro ...

'', ''

SoHo (magazine) ''SoHo'' is a Colombian-based men's magazine founded in 1999 by Isaac Lee and others. In addition to Colombia, it is distributed in Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica and Peru. It is the second largest magazine by circulation in Colo ...

'', ''Estilo Fedco'', ''

Donjuan (magazine) ''Donjuan'' ( es, Don Juan) is a Colombian monthly lads mag and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude Nudity is ...

'', ''Axxis'', ''

Semana ''Semana'' (Spanish: ''Week'') is a weekly magazine in Colombia. History ''Semana'' was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo (who would become president of Colombia in 1958) and that folded in 1961. It was relaunched by journalist Felipe ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', (North Cone edition). His editorial work covered fashion, portraiture, architecture, stills and reportage. His photography work for architect

Giancarlo Mazzanti Giancarlo Mazzanti (born 1963) is a Colombian architect based in Bogota. Mazzanti was born in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1963. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Pontifical Xaverian University in Bogotá (Pontificia U ...

was also featured in ''The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture''. Gómez's work has also been published in

Avianca Avianca S.A. ( acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered und ...

's magazine, and '' El Tiempo''. In addition, Gómez lectured on different levels of photography at Bogotá's most important universities for 7 years. He worked for the Fine Art, Media, Graphic Design, Advertising and Engineering schools of

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana The Pontifical Xavierian University (in Spanish Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Societ ...

, Politécnico Grancolombiano,

, Central University and

Francisco José de Caldas District University The Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas ( es, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas) is a public, coeducational, research university based in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the second most important public higher education instit ...

. He was also offered a place as a photography lecturer in the Fine Arts School of the Universidad de Los Andes by Carolina Franco (then dean of the Fine Arts School), shortly after having already decided to travel to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the U.K. and continental

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to focus on his personal work and expand his international experience. Some of the editorial portrait subjects from Gómez's career have ranged from Colombian ex-president

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...

and politician and diplomat

Noemí Sanín Marta Noemí del Espíritu Santo Sanín Posada (born 6 June 1949) is a Colombian-born politician and diplomat. She was the Conservative party candidate in the 2010 Colombian presidential election. A lawyer from Pontifical Xavierian Universi ...

, to race car driver

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...

and alternative rock band Aterciopelados. Gómez has lived and worked previously in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he worked as a freelance photographer for

ASOS.com ASOS plc ( ) is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, and ships to al ...

. He is currently based in

. In addition to his photography career, Gómez is actively involved in artistic and curatorial projects, and in photographic education. Gómez works mainly with

Mamiya RZ67 The Mamiya RZ67 is a professional medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Mamiya. There are three successive models: the RZ67 Professional (first model released in 1982), RZ67 Professional II (released in 1993) and RZ67 P ...

Sinar Sinar Photography AG is a Swiss company based in Zurich manufacturing specialized high-resolution view cameras for studio, reproduction, landscape and architecture photography. Sinar's view-cameras allow both the lens and the film back or sen ...

and

Canon Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optical, imaging, and industrial products, such as lenses, cameras, medical equipment, scanners, printers, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.< ...

equipment.

Major exhibitions

*London: Southbank Centre / Coin Street Festival Exhibit: "Equilibrium". 2009-2010. *Invitation to Photographic Exhibit
Fotográfica Bogotá. May - Jun. 2009
A selection of 15 B/W Portraits by Miguel Gómez, along with work by: Bettina Rheims,

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. Her most notable work is '' The Ballad of Sexual Depe ...

Erwin Olaf Erwin Olaf Springveld (born 2 July 1959), professionally known as Erwin Olaf, is a Dutch photographer from Hilversum. Time (magazine), Time magazine described his work as straddling "the worlds of commercial, art and fashion photography at once. ...

, Eugenio Recuenco,

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

, Sophie Ristelhueber, Loan Nguyen, Alexandre Orion,

Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits using a very l ...

Gottfried Helnwein Gottfried Helnwein (born 8 October 1948) is an Austrian-Irish visual artist. He has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media. His work is ...

, Graciela Sacco,

Martin de Thurah Martin de Thurah (born 29 April 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and music video director. De Thurah graduated from National Film School of Denmark in 2002. Awards * The music video for Carpark North ...

, Olaf Breuning, Peter Beste, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom Chambers,

Alberto Korda Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda or simply Korda (September 14, 1928 – May 25, 2001), was a Cuban photographer, remembered for his famous image ''Guerrillero Heroico'' of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. ...

, Arnold Newman, Bernard Silvesten,

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...

Graciela Iturbide Graciela Iturbide (born May 16, 1942) is a Mexican photographer. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is included in many major museum collections such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The J. Paul Getty Museum. Biograp ...

Awards, presentations and distinctions

*Featured and Showcased on Culture Trip's Website:
7 Photographers from Bogotá to Check Out
2017. *Nominee / "Amphibia" - Sixth Annual Black and White Awards:
The Spider Awards
2011. *Artwork (cover) for Thom Carter’s Album
‘Son Clair’ - London Soundmap experimental audio project
Released London, 2009. *Featured and Showcased on the British Fashion Website:
"Iqons": 15 Minutes of Fame
London, 2008. / Archived: Site closed in late 2012. *Pecha Kucha Night Bogota - Farewell Presentation
PKN Vol.IV
2007
Profile
an
Video Link
* Featured and Showcased on:

2005-2007. *Finalist: Photography Lecturing Contest -

Universidad Nacional de Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

: August 2004. *Member of the Board of Directors at the Colombian Photographers Association ASOFOTO
ACF
Jun. 2002 - Dec. 2004. *Honorary Mention - Fotomaratón - Fotomuseo: Images of the City: Oct. 2001: (Amanecer, Monserrate: Item 31 of 50)
FotoMaratón
Plus
All versions of the competition
*Shared: - Cannes Young Creatives Competition / Semana - with University Creative Advertising Partner
Studio Arellano
June 1999.

Early life and education

Career

Major exhibitions

Awards, presentations and distinctions

References

External links