Paulo Monteiro
Portugal | B. 1963
Originally from the island of São Miguel, Azores, Paulo Monteiro has, since 1985, developed a photographic career deeply rooted in the attentive observation of the land and its lived experiences. A self‑taught photographer, he has shaped his vision through persistent practice and continuous study, taking part in portfolio reviews and training sessions with Magnum agency photographers – experiences that have refined both his technical precision and his distinctive artistic voice.
His work is defined by long‑term projects that explore diverse yet interconnected themes, united by a documentary and poetic sensitivity: popular religiosity and profane festivities; landscape and nature; the world of labour and the ways in which it shapes communities. In each series, Monteiro seeks to create an almost organic connection with his subjects, revealing life’s textures, everyday gestures, and symbols that define identity.
His photographs have been exhibited and published both in Portugal and abroad, consolidating a trajectory that blends memory, culture, and critical observation. His practice goes beyond simply recording the visible; it proposes silent, open narratives in which the viewer is invited to reflect on social and environmental transformations – always rooted in the Azorean heritage that inspires him.
Photo by Teresa Botelho
CREDENCIAIS
2017
Black&White International Award Rome, Second Prize, Best Single Shot, Italy
Honorable Mention, Mês da Fotografia do Barreiro Contest, Portugal
2016
Black&White International Award Rome, First Prize, Best Single Shot, Italy
Second Prize, Mês da Fotografia do Barreiro Contest, Portugal
2015
Tetenal European B/W Classics Award – 2nd place, Germany
Black+White Photographer of the Year, Documentary Category Winner, UK
2011
International Photography Awards, People: Culture, Second Place, Non‑professional, USA
2010
Bronze Award, Black & White Magazine Single Image Contest, USA
First Prize, VII “Olhos Sobre o Mar” Photography Contest, Ílhavo, Portugal
2008
II Macaronesia Photography Contest, Portugal and Spain
2007
Honorable Mention, 2nd Maria Lamas National Photography Contest, Torres Novas, Portugal
1995
Prize, IV Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
2024
Rituais do Inverno Transmontano, PAN Festival, 6th Edition, Vilarelhos, Alfândega da Fé, Portugal
2017
A Alma e o Povo, Convento dos Frades, Lagoa, Azores, Portugal
2015
Processies, Sint-Michielskerk, Ghent, Belgium
2007
Açores Profundos, Teatro Micaelense, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
2005
Espírito Santo nas Ilhas Terceira, Pico e São Jorge, Museu de São Jorge, Portugal
2004
Semana Maior, Museu de São Jorge, Portugal
2003
Semana Maior, travelling exhibition on São Miguel Island, Portugal
1997
5th Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
1994
Arco 8 Gallery, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
1992
Solmar Library, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
1990
Portuguese Association of Photographic Art, Lisbon, Portugal
1989
Arco 8 Gallery, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
2025
Scenes from Real Life, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
2024
Nature Exposed, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
Parenthoods, The Agrinio Photography Festival Photopolis, Kapralos Museum, Agrinio, Greece
OLHA-ME!, South Medical Association Gallery, Portugal.
2023
À Noite, Todos os Gatos São Pardos (At Night, All Cats Are Grey), Atelier Obscura, Portugal
Night Skies and Astro Imaging, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Greece
On Food, Conviviality and Cultures, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Greece
2022
Open Exhibition, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
CIP Festival, Chania, Greece
The Ephemeral and the Evanescence Perception, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
2021
Folklore and Traditions, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
DANTE 2021. Un tributo fotografico, Museo del Territorio, San Daniele del Friuli, Italy
3rd Vila de Fânzeres Art Biennial – Photography – Heritage, Portugal
CIP Festival, Chania, Greece
2020
In Contact, The Baldwin Photographic Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, USA
Still Life, Alternative Exposures, Loosenart International Group Exhibition, Millepiani, Rome, Italy
2017
Mês da Fotografia Contest, Augusto Cabrita Municipal Auditorium, Portugal
2016
Mês da Fotografia Contest, Augusto Cabrita Municipal Auditorium, Portugal
Black&White International Award Rome, Spazio Tetenal, Rome, Italy
2015
Black+White Photographer of the Year 2015, theprintspace, London, UK
Black+White Photographer of the Year 2015, Leica Mayfair, London, UK
2010
Olhos Sobre o Mar, Santo André Ship Museum, Ílhavo, Portugal
32nd Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Belgium
2009
2nd Biennial of Photography, Sintra, Portugal
2008
La Manera Atlántica | A Maneira Atlântica, travelling exhibition in the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores
2005
Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
2003
8th Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Arte 13, travelling exhibition on São Miguel Island, Portugal
2001
7th Prix International "Charlemagne", Thionville, France (travelling in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg)
Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Galeria do Fórum Cultural de Alverca, Portugal
7th Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
2000
Marca Madeira 2000, Portugal
A Window on the Azores, New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, USA
1999
A Window on the Azores, The Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda
21st Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Belgium
1998
5th Biennale d’Arts Graphiques, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France
20th Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Belgium
Novos Criadores (New Creators), Ponta Delgada, Portugal
1995
4th Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
1992
1st Art Week, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
1989
1st Biennial of Photography, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
Pontilha, Ribeira Grande, Portugal
Book Rituais do Inverno Transmontano, Lema d’Origem Editora, Artes Collection, Carviçais, Portugal
Book MYTOGRAPHY, Vol. IV, Exhibit Around APS, Trieste, Italy
2023
Book MYTOGRAPHY, Vol. III, Exhibit Around APS, Trieste, Italy
Apocalypse and Rebirth (January), Associazione DIY, Italy
Al‑Tiba9 (January), Spain
2022
Book MYTOGRAPHY, Vol. II, Exhibit Around APS, Trieste, Italy
FotoCult Magazine (October), Italy
2021
Book DANTE 2021. Un tributo fotografico, ed. dotART, Trieste, Italy
2015
Black+White Photography (December), UK
Black+White Photography (September), UK
2009
Réponses Photo (February), France
2007
Book Açores Profundos / Profound Azores, Edições Caixotim, Artes e Letras Collection, Porto, Portugal
Exposições Lumicroma
IN COLORS PROJECT | REACT!
The broadness ... Ler Mais
The broadness to which the theme is open is represented in this set of 50 artworks by photographers from 22 nationalities. React! to what, from what perspective? The possibility of endless interpretations is mirrored in an exhibition in which the reaction is as much in the photographed "scene" itself as in the impression of the person who photographed it, and also, and always, in the eye of the person who appreciates the photograph.
In this realm, there is the image of time and place, of many places and many qualities of time. There is the beauty of moments, spaces, cultures and traditions. There is a whole scale of emotions. There is the poetry of landscapes and the destruction wrought by war. There is fantasy in improbable scenarios. There are global concerns, personal instances. Sometimes the weight of existence; sometimes the lightness of laughter in the face of death.
There remains, still, the certainty of a kaleidoscopic world, in permanent change, so that stories repeat themselves. Because man repeats himself. The continuity of life is also maintained. It is in the faces of many. It is in the colors. It is in the light of black and white. It is in the instinct. In the will. In what is lost, in what is conquered. Ler Menos
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IN COLORS PROJECT | HOME
In 74 photographs, 32 authors from 14 nationalities give us the most poignant portrait of what we are, what we do and what we are failing at. Because HOME has smiles and exposed wounds. It shows a sense of belonging and an absurd lack of ground. It is the human cloak of a thousand patches to which we all belong.
This is our Home. And we can't close our eyes.
IN COLORS PROJECT - an initiative without borders by Lumicroma - reclaims the relevance of photography as a socio-cultural record and artistic intervention. Through the convergence of experiences, aesthetics and visions, it aims to trace, every year, the big picture of the times in which we live. Ler Menos
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AUSCHWITZ: TRACE(S) OF A LEGACY
To keep the memory alive appeals to reflection and to vigilanc ... Ler Mais
To keep the memory alive appeals to reflection and to vigilance and encourages the commitment of future generations, so that, through these, the voices of the survivors, which will soon no longer be heard, can echoe.
We know the history, we have seen the films and we have read the books. We have always been told that Auschwitz is the true symbol of Holocaust, since more than one million jews were murdered there. A factory of killing people! Gypsies, ho-mossexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and political dissidents also suffered in this dark place.
We have read about the hideous experiments carried out by Mengele in Auschwitz. We have seen photographies of the survivors, of the corpses, of the crematoriums, of the abandoned personal belongings. We started our journey to Poland with the thought that we would be prepared to face the interpretative centre of the Holocaust and, through it, find the answer to our restlessness: how could this have been humanly possible?
During the journey, we revisited those with whom we had previously shared the feeling of the concentration camp. All the pages, testimonies and faces remained well alive in our memories.
We have arrived, the presence in Auschwitz overwhelms us!
No memory, read, studied, seen or heard can be compared to standing right there. In the deafening silence of that place, which carries within itself the imense loss of human sense, the question of Theodor Adorno gains strenght: How can poetry be possible after Auschwitz Ler Menos
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COURA'S PARADISE
Alfredo Cunha's eye, attentive and sharp, documents this magic, this spirit of brotherhood, this collective happiness. The joy of the audience and the euphoria of the bands, who never forget th ... Ler Mais
Alfredo Cunha's eye, attentive and sharp, documents this magic, this spirit of brotherhood, this collective happiness. The joy of the audience and the euphoria of the bands, who never forget that breathtaking human wall and the generous way they are received. It captures the sweetness, the serenity, the deepest peace, the shared love, the respect, the amazement, the unique energy of the Taboão river, contrasted with the exaltation, the apotheosis, the celebration and the joy, that sacred emotion that Almada Negreiros once said was "the most serious thing in life".
Year after year, we need the Paredes de Coura Festival to recharge the batteries of passion, to dispel the mediocrity of the grayest days, to cure the diseases of the sadness that makes us pale and to chase away the city carrion that burrows into our bones. To fill ourselves with beauty, euphoria and the deepest peace, in divine communion with nature. On pilgrimage, in a perpetual return to magic.
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IN COLORS PROJECT | JOY
Photography, as a device for representation and mediation, emerges as a territory for ideological, aesthetic, and poetic experimentation. The selected images map out visual strate- gies through which different cultures are encoded, ritualized, and transmitted. Encompassing a range of representational expressions – from collective celebration to intimate contemplation – each author presents a singular visual lexicon, revealing joy as a socio-anthropological and aesthetic praxis, while envisioning the creation of possible futures.
The curatorial approach is structured around the hypothesis that the photographic image constitutes a device for reconfiguring sensibility, for analyzing and interpreting reality, transfigured and appropriated into autonomous and individual realities, prompting us to question the conditions of possibility for pleasure, encounter, and transformation in contemporary societies.
Curated by Aníbal Lemos and Sandra Maria Teixeira
IN COLORS PROJECT – a borderless initiative by Lumicroma – reclaims the relevance of photography as a sociocultural record and artistic intervention. Through the convergence of experiences reflecting on the current world and through photographic creation, it aims to annually trace the grand image of the time in which we live. Ler Menos
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