BIO
Born in São Paulo in 1959, he developed an artistic practice marked by a rigorous graphic philosophy. He treats photography as construction, using the photographic apparatus as a tool for plastic expression that explores the body, movement, light, and the boundaries between figuration and abstraction.
Over five decades, Klaus has undergone radical transformations in visual language. In the 1970s, he explored surf culture on the beaches of São Paulo and Rio. In the 1980s, he established himself in editorial and fashion photography, with work in Vogue Brazil and Claudia Moda. He has published with Damiani, Ginko Press, and Terra Virgem. His series – Mermaids, Introvision, Flowers, Norami, Ophelia's Death, NEXT – represent ongoing investigations into visual form and chromatic sensitivity. The NEXT series (2020-2026) marks a radical reconfiguration: abandoning previous languages, adopting inverted exposures, double negatives, and distorted colors, seeking to "observe the world in a new way."
Klaus investigates not only what to photograph, but how to photograph it and what the images should look like. He engages with movements such as Moholy-Nagy's Neues Sehen and Man Ray's surrealist embrace – seeing photography as a means of creation, not mechanical recording. He seeks to photograph the invisible, the spirit within people. His work is part of more than 20 permanent collections: MASP, Pinacoteca do Estado, MAM, MAC, FAAP and Itaú Cultural in Brazil; museums in Munich, Frankfurt, Paris and Kyoto abroad. Recent participations include MMXXV (Museum of Photography, Fortaleza) and Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz (Ribeirão Preto), 2024-2025.
Discover more at klausmitteldorf.com