About me
David Cardelús, photographer
Born in 1967 and raised in Barcelona, David majored in photography, film and video from Universitat de Barcelona Fine Arts School in 1991. His degree course work included painting, drawing and sculpture, as well as narrative, semiotics and communication. Other courses at the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya included XIXth century photographic techniques and the photographic representation of the human body.
David has been shortlisted twice as a finalist in the European Architectural Photography Prize Architekturbild, in 1995 and 1999, and his work has been shown at both the Photo España and Primavera Fotogràfica photo festivals.
David lives in Barcelona’s lively and small Gràcia district.
Some clients
David has worked for many different clients that use his imagery on their communications: they include renowned publishing and architectural firms, luxury retail brands, magazines, industrial and engineering companies, public corporations, hotels, museums and universities.
Acieroid
ACTAR
Agustí Costa, Estudi de Disseny
Alonso, Balaguer y Arquitectos Asociados
Ajuntament de Barcelona | Projectes Urbans
Axalta Coating Systems
b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos
Bienal de Arquitectura Española
Blanch & Conca Arquitectura
Casa Batlló S. L. U.
Casa Vicens Gaudí S. A.
Condé Nast International
ELISAVA / Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Elval Colour
Ermenegildo Zegna
Fundació Mies van der Rohe
Josep Llinàs, Arquitecte
Loewe
MAP Arquitectes, Josep Lluís Mateo
Martinez Lapeña & Torres, Arquitectes
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona MACBA
Naturgy
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Architects
Peter Marino Architect PLLC
Porcelanosa
Presidència de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Reynaers Aluminium
Ricard Mercadé & Aurora Fernández, Arquitectes
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Architects
Savills Barcelona
“To love beauty is to see light”
victor hugo | french writer
Testimonials
Some of the clients with whom David has had the privilege to work for have kindly allowed to publish these testimonials.
Agustí Costa | ARCHITECT
“It is twenty years now that David Cardelús photographs my works. During this time, his quality has never ceased to increase and there is a surprising harmony between my architecture formal values and the expression he obtains from. Sometimes his powerful abstractions seduce without sacrificing realism: his photographs are the result of his ability to highlight what is more remarkable eliminating what is superfluous".
Anna Gener | CEO Barcelona Savills Aguirre Newman
"David Cardelús photographs are of an exceptional quality, from my point of view, authentic artworks. I have been fortunate to collaborate with David on several occasions, so I can prove his great professionalism and solvency. He is a professional who makes the difference".
Magdalena Plocikiewicz | Marketing and Communication Director Acieroid
"Does the slogan that the image is worth a thousand words seem banal to you? Well, not even with more than a thousand would it describe the art that David has to capture the city, the architecture or the person. Any image communicates because it contains information, but David's photographs make us stop and appreciate what sometimes goes unnoticed, amid so much maelstrom of content and contexts. If you want to find beauty, even in something ordinary, I recommend that it is David who captures its essence".
Steve flanagan | vice president | lee kennedy co.
“I'm thankful that David didn't listen to the professional counselor who suggested that he become an air conditioner installer! As soon as David's work showed up on my LinkedIn feed I sent him an invitation to connect. His photography is gorgeous and stands alone as artwork but he also understands that his photographs must allow his architectural clients to effectively market their projects. I believe he is able to accomplish both because of his tremendous passion for architecture and photography. His passion comes through in his posts which are always enjoyable to read".
Roberto cruz niemiec | curator archatlas
“David Cardelús is passionate about his work, professional, dedicated, and knowledgeable about architecture and photography. From the first time I found his work to be authentic. In a time when the glut of information makes many photographers and architects rely on gimmicks and affectations Cardelús work shines because of its honesty. The building design, the spaces and light, its colors and details, come through on the images in a way that makes us feel like we are there. His recent series focused on Gaudi’s work has allowed me to really experience these projects for the first time, in images that are crisp and filled with light".
robert Fiehn | client & media coordinator rogers stirk harbour + partners
“David is an excellent photographer and a pleasure to work with. He understands complicated architectural briefs in the blink of an eye and will produce an outstanding collection of photos with no on site supervision (if you are commissioning from abroad as I was). He will also go the extra mile to get the best shots, even if that means returning to a site again and again. He is a true professional".
James Leathem | Associate Partner Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
“I can thoroughly recommend David’s building photography. We were extremely grateful for his collaboration on the Las Arenas project in Barcelona, where he demonstrated his particular talent for capturing the light and colour of specific spaces and features on the project.
For the Architect, there is nothing better, following all the many years of hard effort conceiving and building a project, than seeing the finished article captured and recorded in just the way you had imagined it. It is a great talent to be able to understand volumes, angles, colour and both natural and artificial light in order to create the photographs that clearly and beautifully demonstrates the architecture on display”.
josep llobet | architect
“Photographing my architectural projects by David is to recall and redraw them again. His warmth, tranquility and “savoir faire” and, ultimately, his human qualities make him a very close and friendly person. The materials used in my projects appear with a different and improved quality as seen through his camera. David cares with innate elegance for all the details that make projects more understandable and there are always new elements in his photographs that you discover the more you observe them, as if you undressed them. I have worked with David for several years and it has always been a pleasure".
Architectes CH | MAGAZINE
“According to David Cardelús, architectural photography is about lines, shapes, textures and colours. To fix the digital image that will draw the attention of lovers of architecture, all that is required is to organize these elements through the camera lens and to locate the light which optimizes the project. Graphic vision and insight are among David Cardelús’s major qualities. He instinctively simplifies his images with maximum effect, reinforcing the power of his compositions through the simplicity of his lines. So it is hardly surprising that the photographer refers to the painters Mondrian, Rothko or Scully".
Pilar Delgado | DIRCOM CASA VICENS
"David has shot several photography projects for Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Batlló and the truth is that the results have been very satisfactory. From the great photo of the facade covered with roses for 2016 Sant Jordi’s day that went around the world thanks to his great photographic work to photography series of the house interiors. It was really easy to work with him but, even more important, he was always a professional to trust because the results would be extraordinary. A pleasure, David, and let's work together again on more photo projects !".
emili masferrer | ceo | casa vicens
“We decided to work with David as part of our strategy to position Casa Vicens in the digital environment. We were looking for an innovative language that would bring a new vision and perception to our image as a house museum. We are confident that David's photographs, with their distinctive use of light and color, will soon become the iconic images that we want to associate with Casa Vicens. David quickly understood the objective of the work and what we were looking for from the direction of Casa Vicens".
pere bosch | ceo | metroinvest
“I admire David for his ability to show us with his work what we hardly appreciate when we look at architectural icons with our own eyes. In my view, David's work stands out because his images transcend the photographed subject and, through the prism of his camera, become art. After the experience of a professional commission with some properties in our portfolio, I value very positively, his empathy, his frankness and honesty, his flexibility to design product and his ability to advise us. The result of our difficult assignment has been surprising: I never imagined that such extraordinary images could emerge from our buildings. Bravo, David!".