
Diego Orlando
Fine art photographer | Visual artist | Pictorialist
Statement
I'm Diego Orlando and I seek the light in a world of shadows
[…] I do think these images are indeed powerful, pleasing and thought provoking and of excellent quality. Hence, I was more than delighted to place them in the Quay Street Gallery.Denis Taylor - Curator, artist and writer
As a photographer, I seek light in a world of shadows.I pursue capturing the essence behind the veils of reality. Inspired by the drama of the Baroque and the intensity of the Pre-Raphaelites, I evoke the mysticism of past eras through the contemporary lens.In the theater of the ephemeral, I recreate scenarios that reveal secrets of the soul.My portraits, like living paintings, delve into the ineffable through the gaze. Freezing a moment in time, I wish to transport the viewer beyond the mundane.With each photograph, I aim to elevate the everyday and highlight the beauty hidden in details.Through the theatrics of light and composition, I imprint emotion onto the fleeting.Thus, year after year, I continue pursuing the light that hides in the shadows, hoping to share my unique vision with those who seek to transcend through art.
Photo awards
2018
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2018—
Winner in Fine Art - Professional Category
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2018—
Winner in Book - Professional Category
2020
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2020—
Honorable Mention in Fine Art - Professional Category
2021
Fine Art Photography Awards —FAPA—
Nominee in Fine Art - Professional Category
VOGUE - PhotoVogue Italia
November, 8 - Pic of the Day & Best of PhotoVogue - with Mother Earth.
2022
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2022—
Honorable Mention in Fine Art Portrait - Professional Category
Fine Art Photography Awards —FAPA—
Nominee in Portrait - Professional Category
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2022— Official Selection in Fine Art, Portrait - Professional Category

Tokio International Foto Awards™ —TIFA 2022— Official Selection in Fine Art, Other - Professional Category

Tokio International Foto Awards™ —TIFA 2022— Honorable Mention in Fine Art, Other - Professional Category

2023
VOGUE - PhotoVogue Italia
January, 16 - Best of PhotoVogue - with Blue Night.
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2023— Official Selection with the artwork "Harmony in the Countryside: Grandma's Beloved Farm" in Nature, Animals & Pets - Professional Category
International Photography Awards™ —IPA 2023—
Honorable Mention in Nature, Animals & Pets - Professional Category
Exhibitions
ICONIC photo show - Milan
Sep 22 - 24, 2023The prestigious platform Collater.al presents a new edition of its ICONIC photographic exhibition in Milan, curated by Martin Vegas and ImageNation. This event gathers prominent international contemporary photographers and is a must-see for photography enthusiasts.Under the concept of "suspended universe", ICONIC explores the line between reality and imagination in photography. The selected works play with the viewer's perception, immersing them in dreamlike universes emerging from the dialogue between photographer and observer. ICONIC 2023 is an inspiring exhibition reflecting on photography from a fresh perspective. It is an unmissable event for discovering the latest contemporary photography trends.
2BIENALBLACK - Brasil
Jan 13th, 2022Organised by Black Brazil Art (BBA) and selected by a jury that included a representative of Itaú Cultural (IC), the Brazilian Association of Art Critics (ABCA), the International Association of Women's Museums - IAWM (representing Canada) and the Association of Art Museum Curators of New York - AAMC.
The MANCHESTER 2020 VR Exhibition
Jun 20 - jul 20, 2021Organised by British Art Exhibitions, painters TUBES magazine and Tubes Artists Gallery (TAG). United Kingdom.
London Art BIENNALE
Jun 30 - jul 4, 2021Curated by international museum and gallery professionals. The Biennale took place on the King’s Road, Chelsea, known as the true artistic centre of London.
“The second most important curated Art Biennale after Venice”
Lonnie Schlein - Pulitzer Prize winner
LOOSENART - Millepiani
Feb 5 - Mar 4, 2020Windows into the virtual
Millepiani - Rome - Italy.
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
Dec 12, 2019 - Jan 4, 2020Los Angeles - CA - EEUU
Los Angeles Center for Digital Art
Sep 12 - Oct 5, 2019Los Angeles - CA - EEUU
The Littel Project
November, 2016Toneelhuis Program. Digital platform Invisible Cities.
Publications
ICONIC Magazine
September, 2023Photo selected by Iconic editors (EDITORS' PICK) for standing out from the rest.
SATCHI ART
February 27, 2023Saatchi Art's chief curator and art advisor Rebecca Wilson selected the photograph "Freedom" as one of Saatchiart.com's best works of the week.This is what they wrote on their instagram account about my work:
Diego Orlando strikes a balance of poetry, magic, and beauty in the quasi-dreamlike characters and scenes he captures.
Influenced by Spanish and Italian Baroque masters, Diego explores light, shadow, and classical subject matter that feels familiar yet surreal.@saarchiart
Click here to read Discover new art our curators love every week (in English).
DODHO Magazine
November 4, 2021Dodho magazine publishes the report "My photographic vocation is born from the tireless search for “the light” that is capable of illuminating a personal world full of shadows". Click here to read the entire article (in English).
Diario Vasco - Spain
October 19, 2021El Diario Vasco (San Sebastián, Spain) publishes the report that Mitxel Ezquiaga made about my work: «Baroque portraits of pandemic». Click here to read the entire article (in Spanish).
Vanitas Creative Culture
October 3, 2021Vanitas Creative Culture (Madrid, Spain) published the article «El señor de la luz / Lord of the light» written by Carlos Mundy in which he shows a series of photographs that I have taken during this year. Click here to read the entire article (in Spanish).
El Diario Vasco - Spain
November 9, 2020El Diario Vasco (San Sebastián, Spain) publishes the report that Mitxel Ezquiaga made about my work: «Photography is for me a pictorial art, not a reflection of reality». Click here to read the entire article (in Spanish).
Cultura Inquieta
November 7, 2020Cultura Inquieta magazine publishes the article «The San Sebastian photographer Diego Orlando finds light in a world of shadows». Read the full article (in Spanish) here.
El Diario Vasco - Spain
September 15, 2019El Diario Vasco (San Sebastián, Spain) publishes the report that Begoña del Teso made about my work: «I escape from this city, I come back, I hate it-I love it and I leave to long for it». Click here to read the entire article (in Spanish).
El Punt Avui - Spain
November 11, 2018El Punt Avui newspaper (Girona, Spain) publishes the report by Jordi Camps I Linnell: «Les ombres d’Orlando». Click here to read the full article (in Catalan).
Diari de Girona - Spain
November 6, 2018Albert Soler publishes in Diari de Girona (Girona, Spain) the interview he did with me: «In Europe it seems that at 50 we are finished». Read the full interview (in Catalan) here.
El Español - Spain
October 9, 2018The digital newspaper El Español (Madrid, España) published the article: «Diego Orlando, winner of one of the international IPA photography awards». Read the entire article (in Spanish) here.
El Diario Vasco - Spain
October 8, 2018El Diario Vasco (San Sebastian, Spain) publishes the review: «Diego Orlando, awarded for his series 'La Mirada de Goya'» for the first place that I obtained at the International Photography Awards (IPA) in the Fine Art and Books categories. Read the entire article (in Spanish) here.
Artworks
For a preview of my photographic work, please

Biography
Diego Orlando is a highly accomplished interior architect and master of creative photography from San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain.He received his Master's degree in creative photography from the University of Catalonia, and has since established himself as a leading figure in the art world.In 2018, Diego won the International Photography Awards (IPA) for his artistic work "La mirada de Goya". This photographic series, produced over a two-year period in different settings in the Province of Girona, depicted the subjugation of Spanish women to the strict religion of the 19th century. The series won two prizes, one in the category of fine arts and the other in books.Since 2018, Diego has been producing the series "Saints and
Mantillas", in which he shows a contemporary view of the life of
martyrs and virgins of Christian culture. In 2020, he won another IPA "Honourable Mention" for his series "Malleus Meleficarum" in the fine arts category.In 2021, Diego was nominated for the International Fine Art Awards -FAPA- and also participated in two exhibitions: Manchester 2020 VR Exhibition and London Art Biennale. He was also selected to present his artwork at Florence Art Biennale. In October 2021, the International Photography Awards (IPA®) awarded him an honorable mention in the professional category of Fine Art Portrait for the series "Half lights, half shadows".Diego's work has been exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Los Angeles Museum of Photography, the Millepiani Gallery in Rome, and the London Art Biennale. His art reflects the masterpieces of pictorialist photography, painting and illustration, with influences from artists such as Robert Demachy, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Francisco de Goya, and Annie Leibovitz.In 2022, Diego was a nominee for the Fine Art Photography Awards
-FAPA- in the Portrait - Professional Category and also an official
selection in International Photography Awards™ - IPA 2022 in Fine Art, Portrait - Professional Category. Also, he was selected as Official Selection and received Honorable Mention in Tokio International Foto Awards™ - TIFA 2022 in Fine Art, Other - Professional Category.Currently, Diego splits his time between Caracas, San Sebastian and Barcelona. He continues to be recognized for his work, receiving accolades such as the "Pic of the Day" and "Best of PhotoVogue" from VOGUE - PhotoVogue Italia. In 2023 he was selected for London Art BIENNALE and considered as "The second most important curated Art Biennale after Venice" by Lonnie Schlein - Pulitzer Prize winner.
Contact
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