Antonio Girbés. Forbidden City

Antonio Girbés was born in 1952 in Valencia, Spain.

In 1979 Girbés moved to Paris where he attended the American School of Photography. During his time there, he worked as an assistant to Horst P. Horst and attended the seminars of Reinhardt Wolf. From 1984 until 1990, he frequently worked and travelled as a press photographer.

After 1990, Girbés chose flowers as his primary subject matter. He worked with flowers given to him as a present, ones he encountered in public, and especially those from his own Denia garden. However, Girbés soon changed subject matter after surviving a decapitation attempt. After this traumatic event, Girbés decided never to return to his house or garden and dropped his favorite floral theme.
That summer, on the 100th anniversary of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, Girbés was invited, along with various teachers and archaeologists, to visit the excavations at Ephesus. During his visit, he encountered the head of the ancient figure Aresteion, whom he would later call SPEECHLESSPRIEST. It was at this moment, Girbés has confessed, that flowers turned to stone and a new obsession entered his life.

Today, Girbes recounts how one summer’s day he left cutting flowers in order to cut off heads. This decision is evident in the thematic change seen in his work.

He currently lives and works between Valencia, Paris, and Vienna.