Buenos Aires, 1969

In the spaces Miguel Mitlag portrays in his photographs, the materials, motifs, and colors that compose the image are carefully selected. According to curator Inés Katzenstein, Mitlag does not pursue spectacle or metaphor, but rather experiences that incite subtle transformations in perception. A committed formalist, little interests him less than the idea of the decorative, except when it comes to giving a scene a certain artificial atmosphere. His photographic compositions and spatial constructions suggest a cryptic philosophy of the world that surrounds us. In their vertiginously bold visual hypothesis, his works challenge the domestication of our gaze.
Mitlag studied film direction at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires. He took photography classes with Alberto Goldenstein and participated in critiques with Jorge Gumier Maier. In 1991 and 1992, he took studio classes at the International Center of Photography in New York. In 2003, he was awarded a fellowship to participate in the Programa de Talleres para las Artes Visuales C. C. R. Rojas – UBA | Kuitca. Solo shows of his work include Útil para nada (Galería Zmud, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2017); Tv Set (Galería Slyzmud, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2013); Holiday (Galerie Koal, Berlin, Germany, 2008); Como hacer un experimento, Tareas de Oficina, and Nuevos Modelos (Galería Braga Menéndez, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2010, 2009, 2006 respectively), and Codex Platino (MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2007). His work has been featured in group shows such as El ejercicio de las cosas (Casa de América,
Madrid, Spain, 2017); Optimismo Radical 2 (Josee Bienvenu, New York, the United States, 2012); Paris Photo (Toluca Editions, Paris, France, 2011); Expansive Link (Galería Diverse Works, Houston, the United States, 2007); Civilización y Barbarie. Argentinos contemporáneos (Brazil, Guatemala, Panama, Chile, Argentina 2004–2006), and No Tango (Berlin, Germany, 2004).
He was nominated for the Decouverte prize at the Rencontres d’Arles (France, 2014). He has been selected to participate in the following art residencies: Batiscafo (Havana, Cuba, 2010), Residencia Guapamacátaro en Arte y Ecología (Michoacán, Mexico, 2009), and the residency at SPHN Galerie (Berlin, Germany, 2004). Mitlag is also a documentary filmmaker.
His films include Peluquero (2014), Una historia del Trash Rococo (2009), and Cenando con Suarez (1998).
He lives and works in Berlin, Germany.