Biography
Zé paiva
I was born in 1961 and have been a professional photographer since 1984. I studied Mechanical Engineering in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, south of Brazil, where I was born. In 1983, after graduating, I got my backpack and took a long trip through Europe and North Africa. When I got back, I had decided that I wasn't going to be an engineer, but I didn't really know what to do. I had several plans, but after three months I was already doing an internship at the branch of the newspaper “O Globo” in Porto Alegre. There I learned about black and white photography with Eduardo Vieira da Cunha, now a renowned painter, and Baru Derquin, a photographer from Bagé (my family's hometown). I worked for some time at the newspaper Zero Hora and in 1985 I moved to Florianópolis. The idea was to work at the newspaper that the RBS group was going to open in Florianópolis, the Diário Catarinense.
Self-portrait Costa da Lagoa, Florianópolis 2023.
I documented the construction work to open the newspaper, but after a few months I met an advertising executive and discovered that there was a shortage of photographers in this area in the city. Since I had completed an internship at a studio in Porto Alegre, I took the risk of opening my own in Florianópolis, and it worked out. For many years I dedicated myself to advertising photography, doing major national campaigns. After many years, I got tired of the studio routine. I led a “double life”, because during the week I was an advertising photographer and on the weekends I took nature photographs as a hobby.
During this period, I taught photography at the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC) for the arts course. I finally decided to change my life and invest in my own work. It was a slow and gradual change. I have already released five books. The first, published by Editora Escrituras, is called Santa Catarina Cores e Sentimentos. The second, a personal project, was published by Editora Letras Contemporâneas in 2005, with the title “Expedição Natureza Santa Catarina.” The third book came out in 2008, a joint publication between Vista, my company, and Editora Metalivros de São Paulo, e chama-se Expedição Natureza Gaúcha. Em 2012 lancei o quarto livro, chamado Expedição Natureza Tocantins. O quinto livro saiu em 2024 e se chama Expedição Natureza da Ilha. Já expus meu trabalho em várias cidades do Brasil mas destaco o projeto “Bichos do Sul”, em parceria com o SESC, que circulou por 20 cidades de Santa Catarina e foi visto por mais de 70 mil pessoas.
In 2009, three photos from the book Expedição Natureza Gaúcha were selected for the Pirelli Masp Collection and five photos were finalists for the Conrado Wessel Award.In 2012, I was awarded the Marc Ferrez Award by FUNARTE for the project “Iluminados - personagens da Ilha de Santa Catarina”, which I exhibited in 2013 at MASC, the Santa Catarina Art Museum. In addition to books and exhibition projects, I license my photos through Pulsar Imagens, sell fine art photographs and organize photographic expeditions.Download the full resume in PDF.
LIVROS
Zé Paiva has published 4 original books. They form the Expedição Natureza series. The inspiration came from the naturalist expeditions of the 18th century, which combined art and science to portray nature and its inhabitants. All the books are hardcover with 144 pages, a closed format of 30 x 28 cm, printed on matte coated paper, and designed by graphic designer Oscar Rivas.
Santa Catarina Nature Expedition
The book features nearly 300 photographs. The texts by environmental consultant Adriana Dias present the scientific aspects of Santa Catarina's nature. Writer and editor Fábio Brüggemann wrote the foreword.
Tocantins Nature Expedition
Over 10,000 images were taken, but only 156 made it into the book. Two of them were finalists in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, organized by the Natural History Museum in London. The texts are by Adriana Dias, and the foreword is by Bené Fonteles.
Gaúcha Nature Expedition
This work showcases the results of three expeditions carried out in 2007, covering the coast, plateau, and pampas of Rio Grande do Sul. The book includes around 160 images, with texts by Adriana Dias and a foreword by Rualdo Menegat.
Santa Catarina Nature Expedition
Just over 100 photographs were selected from the 11,750 taken by Paiva during seven months of exploration, covering 220 kilometers on trails, 60 kilometers paddling a canadian canoe, and over 1,800 kilometers by car. The foreword is by Xavier Bartaburu.
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