Matthew O'Brien

My work explores humanity and the natural world.  In one way or another it is always about recognizing and celebrating beauty-- in people, places, objects, concepts, moments.  I think beauty is an important and often underestimated force, and that beauty can improve people’s lives.

I was born and raised in California.  I studied zoology at the University of California at Berkeley, but figured out that photography rather than science was more suited to me as a way to explore and respond to the world around me.  My understanding of the natural world informs how I view humanity, and it informs my photography.

Much of my work has focused on people and communities with strong ties to the land. Back to the Ranch, my exploration of one of America’s oldest cattle ranching communities and its demise due to urbanization is currently on exhibit in San Francisco, and the on-line version of the exhibition can be seen here: http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/matthew-james-obrien-back-ranch

My work has been exhibited and collected by various institutions including the Library of Congress, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the California Museum of Photography, and el Museo de Arte Moderno de Cartagena.  My photography has been featured in lots of publications including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Slate, and Camera Arts.  I have been honored with a number of awards for my photography, including a Fulbright Fellowship in Colombia for 2010-2011 where I taught photography at la Universidad de Antioquia in Medellí­n, a Community Heritage Grant from the California Council for the Humanities, (the on-line exhibition of Looking For Hope, a collaborative project -texts by students, photographs by me- exploring the inner city public school experience in Oakland, California, where I taught for seven years can be seen here: www.lookingforhope.net, and a Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography Award.