Aitor Ortiz

Aitor Ortiz (*1971 in Bilbao) has taken photographs of monumental structures, such as the Museo Guggenheim Bilbao designed by Frank O. Gehry or Norman Foster’s viaduct in Millau in the south of France. Yet his large-format images are not classic architectural photographs. Upon closer examination, they belie their documentary impression and prove to be works of art in and of themselves. Architecture and space are reduced to such elementary forms and structures that they lose their figurative status and usual sense of reality. The works make reference to Bernd and Hilla Becher, Thomas Struth, and Andreas Gursky, while at the same time the artist skillfully deviates from this tradition to present his photographs in conjunction with sculptural works. This elaborately produced and superbly illustrated publication, which also includes insightful essays, is the first to present an overview of Ortiz’s artistic stance.