Born in Burgos, Spain, Fernando Pérez Fraile owes his early interest in photography to his father, with whom he travelled extensively throughout the vast fields of Castille, photographing stark landscapes and austere romanesque churches.
Architecture, nature and photography have continued to play a central role in Fernando's life since those early days. As an architect, he has been involved in the design of some of the best-known buildings of recent times, such as Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum. As a keen hiker, he has spent countless hours searching for beauty up in the mountains, always with a camera at hand.
Fernando moved to London in 2001 where he continued to develop his passion for photography. His first solo exhibition, "Landscapes of Silence", took place at London's National Geographic Store in February 2011, followed by "Spaces of Memory" at the Lightgallery in November 2012. After a short spell in China, he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2013, where he founded "The Big Clean-up KSA", a volunteering initiative to raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation.
"I understand my work as an architect as a pursuit of beauty. I strive to achieve a world that is at least a bit better than the one I inherited. However, the process of creating a building is an extremely laborious one, requiring thousands of hours and countless meetings and discussions. In a way, photography allows me to find - and perhaps create - beauty in a much more straightforward way. Just me, a camera and the whole world around, revealing beauty in every detail".
EXHIBITIONS
Explorenation World Photography Tours
Fiumano Art Gallery, London, September 2010
Landscapes of Silence
National Geographic, London, January 2011
Explorenation Collective Exhibition
"So far, the future" Art Gallery, London, November 2011
Spaces of Memory
Lightgallery, London, October 2012
Collective Exhibition
Lightgallery, London, December 2012
Spaces in Transition
Hanmi Gallery, London, 13-23 February 2013
Creek
LX Factory, Lisbon, September 2019