Sebastião Salgado

born in 1944 in Aimorés (Bresil)

Following his studies at São Paulo University in Brazil and at Vanderbilt University in the United States, Sebastião Salgado worked with the International Coffee Organization for which he traveled extensively. During these trips, he started taking pictures. In 1973, he left his job to begin a career in photography. He has never stopped traveling since. He partnered with photo agencies such as Sygma, Gamma, and Magnum Photos up until 1994, at which point he and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, founded the Amazonas Images agency.> Read more

His projects are conceived and created as long-term endeavors and presented in exhibitions and books, which are characterized by a strong visual coherence. From 1977 to 1984, Salgado journeyed through Latin America and visited its most remote mountain villages. The resulting photographs were published in Otras Americas in 1986. Salgado began another extensive project that same year examining the global production system for which he traveled to twenty-six countries. His goal was to reveal and explain the evolution of manual labor. First published under the French title La main de l’homme, the book Workers was released in 1993.

In 1994, Salgado started focusing on the constant increase in human migration caused by political events. Throughout the rest of the decade, he published thirty-six stories on this serious topic. He assembled them in Migration, published in 2000 along with The Children, which highlighted the plight of the youngest of these refugees.

His photo essays have been largely rewarded. For instance, he received the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant in Humanistic Photography in 1982, a World Press Photo in 1985, and a Visa d’Or at the Visa pour l’Image festival in 1990.

Salgado’s commitment goes beyond his photographs. In 1998, he successfully converted the land he had inherited from his family in Brazil into a nature reserve and created the Instituto Terra, whose aim is to replenish the country’s depleted Atlantic forest. Furthermore, having collaborated with Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization on numerous occasions, he was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.

Since 2004, Salgado has been working on a new monumental project entitled Genesis; a collection of black and white photographs of landscapes, fauna, flora, and communities who still live according to ancestral ways and traditions.

In 2014, the movie “the Salt of the Earth“ directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado that portrays to Sebastião Salgado’ work, the special prize in Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, it also won the Cesar Award Best Documentary Film at the 40th Cesar Awards.

In 2016, Sebastião Salgado was decorated with the awards of «Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur » and joined the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Coal miners, Dhanbad, Bihar, India, 1989

Exhibitions at Polka Galerie

Exhibitions at Polka Galerie

Magnum Opus Magnum Opus Magnum Opus Magnum Opus Magnum Opus

Sebastião Salgado

Magnum Opus
January 20 - March 4, 2023
Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold

Sebastião Salgado

Gold
January 31 - March 14, 2020
Collective Exhibition Collective Exhibition Collective Exhibition Collective Exhibition Collective Exhibition

Sebastião Salgado

Collective Exhibition "Terre des îles"
January 25th - March 3rd 2018
Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde

Sebastião Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado Exhibition Femmes du Monde
November 10th 2017 - January 20th 2018
Le Tour de France Le Tour de France Le Tour de France Le Tour de France Le Tour de France

Sebastião Salgado

Le Tour de France
July 2 - 30, 2016
Sebastião Salgado Sebastião Salgado Sebastião Salgado Sebastião Salgado Sebastião Salgado

Sebastião Salgado

Sebastião Salgado
November 9, 2013 - January 18, 2014
Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders

Sebastião Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado curated by Wim Wenders
November 8 - December 20, 2014
Afriques Afriques Afriques Afriques Afriques

Sebastião Salgado

Afriques
November 10 - December 31, 2011
Polka Magazine # 1 Polka Magazine # 1 Polka Magazine # 1 Polka Magazine # 1 Polka Magazine # 1

Sebastião Salgado

Polka Magazine # 1

Selected Publications

Amazônia Amazônia Amazônia Amazônia Amazônia

Sebastião Salgado

Amazônia
Taschen 2021
Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold

Sebastião Salgado

Gold
Taschen, 2019
Kuwait - A Desert on Fire Kuwait - A Desert on Fire Kuwait - A Desert on Fire Kuwait - A Desert on Fire Kuwait - A Desert on Fire

Sebastião Salgado

Kuwait - A Desert on Fire
Taschen, 2016
Autres Amériques Autres Amériques Autres Amériques Autres Amériques Autres Amériques

Sebastião Salgado

Autres Amériques
contrejour, 2015
La main de l'homme La main de l'homme La main de l'homme La main de l'homme La main de l'homme

Sebastião Salgado

La main de l'homme
Editions de la Martinière, 2014
Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis

Sebastião Salgado

Genesis
Taschen, 2013
Africa Africa Africa Africa Africa

Sebastião Salgado

Africa
Taschen, 2011
An Uncertain Grace An Uncertain Grace An Uncertain Grace An Uncertain Grace An Uncertain Grace

Sebastião Salgado

An Uncertain Grace
Aperture, 2005
Migrations Migrations Migrations Migrations Migrations

Sebastião Salgado

Migrations
Aperture, 2000
Workers Workers Workers Workers Workers

Sebastião Salgado

Workers
Aperture, 2005
Sahel: The End of the Road Sahel: The End of the Road Sahel: The End of the Road Sahel: The End of the Road Sahel: The End of the Road

Sebastião Salgado

Sahel: The End of the Road
University of California Press, 2004

Selected Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

Magnum Opus

Polka Gallery, Paris, 2023

Amazônia

Palais des Papes, Avignon, France, 2022

Aquamater

Parvis de Paris la Défense, Paris, France, 2022

Gold

Polka Gallery, Paris, 2020

Genesis

Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2013

Genesis

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France, 2013

Africa

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2009

Exodes

International Center of Photography, New York City, USA, 2001

Exodes

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France, 2000