Semblanza

He was born on March 26, 1954 in Mexico City. He started his photographic career at the late 1960s. He is a member of the Mexican Board of Photography since 1983, where he has participated as coordinator of exhibitions and has given some workshops. Chen has been a lecturer in several colloquiums, an exhibition curator and contest juror. He was as member of the Advisory Committee of FONCA for Young Creators, from 1992 to 1995.

The theme of his photos is Mexico City, its daily life, the streets, the squares, the street wall paintings, the flavor of its ballrooms where the pleasure of the danzón, rumba or merengue are expressed. An important genre of his work is the portrait, which deeply develops when he got cancer in 1991, which he manage to overcome. Afterwards, he became interested in what is called anti-portrait, where he seeks for the dark side of the individual, he tries to capture them just as they are, with their faults and virtues.

His first individual exhibition was in the Modigliani Gallery, Mexico City (1979), then in places like the Casa de la Cultura, Puebla (1983-85); the Mexican Board of Photography (1986); Ballrooms, travelling exhibition (1991-94); Casa de la Cultura Reyes Heroles (1994); Gallery of the Universidad de Yucatán; The Morelia Library, Michoacán; Gallery of the Universidad de Yucatán, (1995); Graphic Gallery Soruco, Oaxaca; Gallery OJOROJO-Photographers, Guadalajara; Gallery of the Universidad Autónoma de Campeche; Tribute to madness, Gallery Juan Martín; Museum of Contemporary Art of Morelia; and “Testimonio de una Curación, 20 años después” ath the Museum of Medicine of the UNAM (2013).

Gilberto has participated in more than a hundred and thirty collective exhibitions in different spaces of Mexico and countries like Italy, Cuba, U.S.A., Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, and Finland.

During his artistic career he has been granted prizes and distinctions like the Price to Acquisition at the exhibition Herencias de la Colonia [Legacies of Colonial Times] of the Viceroyalty Museum, Tepotzotlán (1988); winner of the 6th Biennial of Photography, INBA (1993); member of the Selection Committee of exhibitions for the galleries of the UAM (1997); Jury of Young Art, Aguascalientes (1998); and Jury at the Biennial of Photojournalism, Mexico City (1999).

Gilberto Chen was part of the National System of Art Creators (1997-2011). He is a professor at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos.