Bio

Galician photographer Xan Padrón (Ourense, Spain, 1969) received his first camera at the hands of the photojournalist Enrique Reza, who awoke in him a passion for the photography of the everyday, just as his father, the journalist Luís Padrón, awoke in him the patience to listen and observe stories.
After a series of street photography projects in New York City (Human City, Motion City, Visions of New York), he began his acclaimed project Time Lapse in 2011: a collection of portraits capturing cities through the people who inhabit them. His series Time Lapse has been the focus of solo exhibitions at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Benrubi Gallery in New York, Matria Gallery in Milan (Italy), Delamour Gallery in Paris (France), the Pfizer Building in New York, and Sala Valente in Ourense (Spain), among other venues. His work is held in corporate and private collections worldwide, including those of TIAA-CREF, Blackstone, Fidelity, and JPMorgan Chase.

In 2026, three of Xan Padrón’s Time Lapse works are included in Power of Words, an 88-foot installation at the Museum of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, "highlighting the power of individual and collective voices and expression”. In 2023, Padrón was invited by the MTA Arts & Design Program to exhibit at the Bryant Park subway station in New York City. His work has been featured in international publications such as New England Review, Die Zeit Magazine, and Harvard Business Review, as well as in the cover of academic anthologies like "Race, Class and Gender in the United States" (MacMillan, 2020) and "Personal Networks" (Cambridge University Press, 2021). His Time Lapses were also selected for the Art on Link program by the City of New York.


Xan Padrón’s career as a photographer is deeply intertwined with his previous profession as a professional musician. For over a decade, he toured with his bass and his camera, capturing life surrounding the musicians he collaborated with. As a photographer of artists and concerts, he has worked in an official capacity for APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals, United States) and has contributed to publications such as Inside Arts and The Writer Magazine (United States).


Xan Padrón shares his life with musician, educator, and writer Cristina Pato. Since 2005, he spends his time between Galicia and New York City and has his studio at Mana Contemporary (NJ). 


Selected Publications 2013-2024:



Latest Exhibitions and Art Fairs:

SOLO (selected)
  • "Xan Padrón: Intervals". Benrubi Gallery. New York City. October-November 2025
  • "Xan Padrón: Time Lapse”: Galleria Matria, Milan. April-May 2025
  • "Xan Padrón: Time Lapse". Delamour Gallery, Paris, France. June-July 2024 
  • “Time Lapse by Xan Padrón" at 42nd St Bryant Park Subway Station. MTA Arts & Design Program in New York City. June 2023- October 2025 
  • "Xan Padrón: Time Lapse". YJContemorary, East Greenwich, RI, March 2022  
  • "Xan Padrón, Time Lapse". Centro Cultural José Ángel Valente, Ourense, SPAIN. December 2021-January 2022  
  • "Time Lapse" by Xan Padrón. United Nations Headquarters, NYC. January -February 2019

      • GROUP (selected)
    • “Power of Words” (88-foot installation). Museum of the Obama Presidential Center. Chicago, IL. 2026.
    • “Impressions croisées”. Delamour Gallery. Paris, France. September 4th-27th 2025
    • "Through the Lens: A Curated Collection of Perspectives in Photography". Merritt Gallery.  Baltimore, Chevy Chase (MD) & Haverford (PA). May 2025
    • "A New Dimension in Photography: The Vibrancy of Color & Light" Holden Luntz Gallery, Palm Beach, FL. March-May, 2025  
    • "Rhythms of the City" Holden Luntz Gallery, Palm Beach, FL. April-June, 2024  
    • Opening Exhibition. DELAMOUR Contemporary Art Gallery. Paris, France. April 2024
    • "Inhale the Exhaust". All Street Gallery. New York City. April-May 2024 
    • “Sound and Sight: A Duet”, an exhibition in collaboration with nAscent Art New York and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. The Watermark At Brooklyn Heights, July 2022 -March 2023  
    • "The Immediate Image". Holden Luntz Gallery, Palm Beach, FL, April-June 2022  
    • WTFOLKS Exhibition at Pfizer Historical Building. Brooklyn NYC 2021-2024  
    • Affordable Art Fair, New York. With Michele Mariaud Gallery. March 2022  
    • Art on Paper, NYC. Michele Mariaud Gallery. March 2020  
    • PhotoLA. Susan Spiritus Gallery. January 2020 
    • #ArtOnLink NYC. 1.700+ Link digital kiosks across NYC's five boroughs. January 2020  
    • CENTER Award Winners Exhibition. Pictura Gallery at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts. December 2019 February 2020 
    • The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art:  Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, LA, London, Dallas.  2017-2025