Juan Couder (Juan García Couder, b. 1998) is a Spanish studio based artist whose experimental practice moves around notions of authorship, temporality and materiality in the field of expanded photography. Couder explores photography as a body vulnerable to time, presenting objects that transform according to the light conditions of their environment. Like any image, his unique processes aim to expose the beauty of a fluctuating world fossilised into objects, a human resistance to a world of constant change.
Couder graduated from the Master of Arts in Photography at Aalto University in 2023, his work has been presented internationally, including the Gallery of Modern Art in Bydgoszcz, Casa de Vacas Retiro, the Finnish Institute of Madrid, the Finnish Museum of Photography, and the Helsinki Photomedia Conference 2024. Couder has been awarded by the Community of Madrid in "Circuitos 2024", Fotomuseum Winterthur, National Awards Pancho Cossío, and PhotoEspaña PRO 2025. He is a member of the BioArt Society since 2022, and has recently participated in GlogauAir and La Gascona residency.
Ongoing & upcoming:
Selected Publications & Exhibitions
2026 “VOLVER A IMAGINAR (REIMAGINING)” CURATED BY GEANINNE GUTIÉRREZ-GUIMARÃES, PHOTOESPAÑA, CÍRCULO DE BELLAS ARTES MADRID. SP
2025“ATTO 2/3: COL TEMPO”, BIGAIGNON X RHINOCEROS, ROMA. IT
2025“UNA RUINA ORDENADA”, FLÚMINA, GUADALAJARA. ES
2025 “SALA DE ESTAR”, CRUCE CONTEMPORÁNEO, MADRID. ES
2025GALLERY OF MODERN ART LEON WYCZÓŁKOWSKI DISTRICT MUSEUM, BYDGOSZCZ. PL
2025“URDIR: CONVIVENCIAS”, RIO MEÑAKA X CASA DE VACAS, MADRID RETIRO. ES
2025 LA EMBAJADA, ARLES. FR
2025CIRCUITOS 2024, SALA DE ARTE JOVEN, MADRID. SP
2025WINTER SOLSTICE. FINNISH IBEROAMERICAN INSTITUTE MADRID, SP
2023 STUDIES ON A CLEPSYDRA, AALTO UNIVERSITY. HELSINKI. FI
2023 FINNISH MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY, MOA 23, HELSINKI. FI.
2022 DIPOLI GALLERY, CURATED BY OUTI TURPEINEN, HELSINKI. FI.
Grants and Awards
2025 NATIONAL AWARD PANCHO COSSÍO, FINALIST. SP
2025PHOTOESPAÑA PRO “TALENTO A BORDO” IBERIA GRANT. SP
2024IMAGE OF THE HELSINKI PHOTOMEDIA CONFERENCE, HELSINKI. FI
2023PLAT(T)FORM 23, FOTOMUSEUM WINTERTHUR. CH
2023 FINNFOTO. FI
2023 LEON ES PHOTO. FIRST ACCESSIT EX+S 23. SP
2022 FINNFOTO. FI
2022 AALTO ARTS AND MEDIA. FI
Studies
2021-23 MA PHOTOGRAPHY, AALTO UNIVERSITY OF ARTS DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, HELSINKI. FI
2018-19 MA CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY, EFTI, MADRID. ES
2018 CREATIVITY AND STRATEGIES IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY (PROF. JAVIER VALLHONRAT), EFTI, MADRID. ES
2016-17 PROFESSIONAL CYCLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY, EFTI, MADRID. ES