Curriculum Vitae
biography:
Victor Cobo is a self-taught photographer based in San Francisco who was originally trained in painting and life-drawing. Cobo grew up in northern California where his earliest memories of photography involved stealing his stepfather's camera, playing dress up and creating theatrical images with teenage friends. In 1999 he was sacked from his graphic design job when management discovered inappropriate photographs on his cubicle wall he had taken while wandering the streets of San Francisco during his lunch breaks. Thus began his full time career as a Fine Art Documentary Photographer.
Victor Cobo's solo exhibitions include "American Dreams" at Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, Oregon in 2007 and "American Dreams" at the Michel Novelozo Gallery, Davis, California in 2005. He has participated in numerous group shows such as the prestigious "First Look: Masters of American Photography" at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas and "Photo Forum: Recent Acquisitions" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. He was the winner of the Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship in 2007. Cobo's work has been featured and reviewed in American Suburb X, Foto8, Ojo De Pez, Private, Newsweek, TIME and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others.
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education:
1999 Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
1996 BFA California State University, Chico, CA
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solo exhibitions:
2007 Blue Sky Gallery, "American Dreams," OR
2005 Michel Novelozo Gallery, "American Dreams," CA
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group exhibitions:
2010 Torrance Art Museum, "Eros/Thanatos," CA
2010 Photo Center NW, "EXPOSED: Critical Mass," WA
2009 Project Space Kreuzberg, "Eros/Thanatos," Germany
2009 Post Gallery, "Eros/Thanatos," CA
2009 Deitch, "Dash Snow Memorial Exhibition," NY
2009 Alice Austen House Museum, "Interlude," NY
2009 Humble Arts Foundation, "Group Show 29," NY
2009 SF Camerawork, "Ersatz Exhibition," CA
2009 Amon Carter Museum, "American Masters," TX
2007 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Acquisitions," TX
2007 Randall Scott Gallery, "Sub-text," Washington, DC
2007 79 Gallery, "The Only Human Exhibit," CA
2006 Fifty Crows Gallery, "Cruzando," CA
2006 Center for the Photographic Arts, "06' Awards," CA
1996 1078 Gallery, "Countdown 2000," CA
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public & private collections:
Amon Carter Museum, TX
Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, CA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
William Benton Museum of Art, CT
Todd Hido, Oakland, CA
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grants & awards:
2009 Burn/Magnum Photos Emerging Grant Finalist
2009 SF Camerawork Fine Print Collection Featured Artist
2008 SF Camerawork Fine Print Collection Featured Artist
2007 Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship
2007 Surface Abstract Impressions Award
2005 Honickman First Book Prize in Photography Finalist
2004 Santa Fe Center Project Competition Finalist
2003 National Geographic Grant for Photography
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bibliography:
2009 Blue Sky Gallery, 07/08 Catalog, Nov.
2009 SF Camerawork, Benefit Auction Catalog, Dec.
2009 Ojo De Pez, "Remember...," (Spain), Issue #17, June.
2009 American Suburb X, "Remember...," May 26.
2009 Burn Magazine, "American Dreams," Feb. 01.
2008 SF Camerawork, Benefit Auction Catalog, Dec.
2008 Newsweek, "Young, Gay & Murdered," Jul.
2008 Leica Photo Int'l, "American Dreams," (Germany), Jan.
2007 SF Chronicle, "Bordering on Hopelessness," Jul. 08
2007 Courrier Int'l., "Le Mexique de Cobo," (France), Apr.
2006 Private, "Metropolis," (Italy), Winter 06-07'
2006 Foto8, "Suenos," (England), Sept.
2006 TIME, "To Be an American?," Apr. 10
2006 TIME, "The Immigrant Plight," Apr. 04.
2001 Leica Photo Int'l, "Cobo's Shadow," (Germany), Nov.
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artist lectures & slide shows:
2009 Look3 Festival of the Photograph, VA
2007 Academy of Art University, CA
2006 Academy of Art University, CA
2006 California College of the Arts, CA
2005 San Francisco Art Institute, CA
2004 Academy of Art University, CA
2003 Academy of Art University, CA
2003 National Geographic Photo Seminar, DC
2002 National Geographic Photo Seminar, DC