Conference Cycle Great Artists on Campus #5: António Júlio Duarte

António Júlio Duarte (b. 1965, Lisbon) is a Portuguese photographer living and working in Lisbon. He studied photography at AR.CO – Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual, Lisbon (1985–1989), and was a scholarship holder from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in the Exchange Students Programme at the Royal College of Art, London (1991).

Exhibiting regularly since 1990, António Júlio Duarte has established himself as one of the most distinctive and consistent voices in contemporary photography. His work captures bustling cities, busy people, cornered creatures, and improbable things—what he describes as his “map of the world.”

Drawn to restless beings in their trivial tasks and daily routines, he seeks to capture the vital tension of the universal desire for life and meaning.

A photography professor at ULusófona, António Júlio Duarte is a regular presence on campus.

Notable solo exhibitions include CRIATURA (O Armário, Lisbon, 2021), Eclipse (Galeria Bruno Múrias, Lisbon, 2020), White Noise (Quartel da Arte Contemporânea de Abrantes, 2017), América (Galeria Pedro Alfacinha, Lisbon, 2017), and Mercúrio (Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, 2015).

He has published several books with Pierre von Kleist Editions, including Against the Day (2019), Japan Drug (2014), Deviation of the Sun (2013), and White Noise (2011)—selected as one of the best photography books of 2011 by international critics and nominated for Best International Photography Book at PhotoEspaña 2011.

His work is included in major collections such as the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Musée de la Photographie Charleroi, Fundação de Serralves, and Fundació Foto Colectania.