Tontxi Vazquez

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Portraits are a place of debates-can be silent or forthright -the more classical approaches has served me well in familiarity to pay deeper attention, so deep, that the next phase to be shot with film; slower also time-based depending on the sitter excite me very much as in music, it will be directed by listening and not looking-like all good musicians. I found to my surprise I had started a series of the backs of people’s heads -where another sense of the un-seen to the sitter, lies another expression of the sitter I will join them in this new way of looking.

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Tontxi is a multidisciplinary mentor and creative force rooted in art, music, film, and community-based work. Guided others spiritually and politically, opening pathways for self-expression and growth. A pioneer in digitizing and licensing intellectual property, helped shape early systems for major image banks including The Image Bank, now part of Getty. Supported fellow creators in asserting copyright, pricing their work, and building lasting legacies. Recognized by The New Museum, PS1, El Museo del Barrio, and Casa Aboy, with work featured in spaces as far-reaching as Frankfurt Airport and a touring exhibit curated by Sebastião Salgado for Médecins Sans Frontières.

During 1970s New York, Tontxi played a vital role in underrepresented artist communities, contributing to EnFoco.org and working alongside iconic figures like Gordon Parks, ADÁL, and Hiram Maristany. Worked in the only Black-owned Haitian custom photo lab, spectrum printed historic images for Gamma-Liaison and trained with French dye transfer technicians. Performed as a young pianist at the Boys Harbor Conservatory with alumni from the MACHITO and Tito Puente Orchestras. Studied filmmaking at FVA and moved through artist circles including Sarita Jarmusch and Michael Moore. Tontxi continues to create work rooted in diaspora and memory.