Graciela Iturbide Mexican, b. 1942

Graciela Iturbide is regarded for her cinematic black and white photographs depicting indigenous groups and settings in her native Mexico. Iturbide’s frames, which she describes as “photo essays,” take inspiration from the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tina Modotti, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo, whom she worked under in the early 1970s; her elegant compositions document the world around her while embracing spontaneity and beauty. Born in Mexico City, Iturbide initially studied film before focusing on photography. Iturbide's work combines history, lyricism, and portraiture. The subtle yet powerful photographs blend the essence of the cultures from her native Mexico with her own personal vision and love of poetry. Her pictures combine the story of a culture in transition with issues of identity, diversity, and selfhood. Drawn to women’s rituals and roles in marginalized societies, Iturbide focuses on experiences that are too often ignored by the mainstream media and art world. Iturbide explores ways to articulate the “voice” of Mexico with an intricate interweaving of histories and practices. “My pictures are a sort of travel diary… As an artist you need to move on, you need to try new things… And in the end, photography for me is just an excuse to get to know the world.” – Graciela Iturbide.

She has exhibited at the Barbican Gallery in London, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Mapfre Foundation in Madrid, among others. Her work is the subject of over thirty-five monographs. She continues to live and work in Mexico.

Iturbide's work belongs to the permanent collections of over forty major international museums, including SFMOMA, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Centre Pompidou. In 2008, Iturbide won the Hasselblad Award, Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden, and had a 2013 solo exhibition titled Graciela Iturbide at the Tate Modern, London, England. Her many honors include the William Klein Prize (2023); Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award (2021); Infinity Award: Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement (2015); National Tribute, Mexico (2014); Lifetime Achievement Award, Bangladesh (2013); Lucie Award (2010); National Prize of Sciences and Arts, Mexico City (2009); Hasselblad Foundation Photography Award (2008); Legacy Award from the Smithsonian Latino Center (2007); Hugo Erfurth Award (1989); and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1988). 

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