Juan Pablo is a lifelong artist, born on the Pacific shores of the beautiful city of Viña del Mar, Chile. From a young age, he was captivated by his surroundings, driven to capture the untold stories around him. Influenced by the sound of the sea, the wind, and the subversive narratives of human existence, his artistic voice soon began to take shape. Montalva’s work carries a sense of sacredness and familiarity—an otherworldly presence anchored in hope.

Over the past decade, Montalva has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in both Chile and New York City. In 2015, he created a powerful series of portraits documenting the punk subculture in Valparaíso, which culminated in a solo exhibition at Galería La Sala in Santiago. His innovative approach to storytelling extends to installations, where he has integrated the poetry of Pablo Neruda with video art.

His body of work includes The Squat, a short documentary exploring the lives of Colombian immigrants in a clandestine settlement within the remnants of the old Yungay train station. Montalva also directed The Dream, a fashion film for L´Officiel Magazine, featuring renowned Chilean actress Patricia Rivadeneira, and The Cosmos’s Heart, a dance short film starring dancer Alexandra Mabes with music by German artist Uwe Schmidt (ATOM™), produced during the pandemic in 2020. His most recent venture into fiction filmmaking, Stolen Summer (32 minutes), is a coming-of-age story set in the 1990s in his hometown of Viña del Mar, adapted from the novel Verano Robado by Chilean author María José Viera-Gallo.

In the commercial realm, Juan Pablo has built a remarkable portfolio as both a director and photographer for international brands such as Levi’s, Banana Republic, H&M, Nike, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Zero+Maria Cornejo, L’Oréal, Netflix, and Polo Ralph Lauren. He has captured portraits of notable figures, including Sean Lennon, Gael García Bernal, Helen Fisher, Pedro Lemebel, Daniela Vega, Joan Collins, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, Colombina Parra, Luis Poirot, and the acclaimed Argentine actor Ricardo Darín. His creative vision and talent have been recognised with awards at the London International Advertising Festival and the Mallorca Festival in Spain.

After spending six years in New York City, Juan Pablo now resides in Santiago, Chile, where he continues to explore and push the boundaries of imagery, narrative, and human experience.

Contact: info@juanpablomontalva.com
instagram @holajuanpablo