Gil Zetbase on Vision, Art and the Birth of AVA

Gil Zetbase : from personal vision to celebrating the work of others

Photographer, creative director, and founder of Art Vision Awards, Gil Zetbase has built a visual universe shaped by fashion, portraiture, editorial culture, and a strong sense of elegance. His work has always been driven by more than aesthetics alone. At the center of his approach is a desire to create images with presence, emotion, and identity. Today, through AVA, he extends that vision beyond his own work by creating a platform designed to highlight and celebrate the art of other photographers.

Interview

Q. How would you define yourself today in a few words?
I would say that I am first and foremost a way of seeing. Of course, I am a photographer and a creative director, but at the heart of everything is the image itself and the emotion it can create. What matters to me is not only making a beautiful photograph, but creating an image that carries presence, identity, and meaning.

Q. Where does your passion for imagery come from?
It comes from very far back. I have always been sensitive to the power of an image, to its ability to reveal a presence, an emotion, even a moment in time. Very early on, I understood that an image could say much more than what it simply shows. Over the years, that sensitivity evolved into a true artistic direction.

Q. Your journey has taken you through different creative worlds. What has that brought to your work?
It taught me how to observe. To observe attitudes, light, faces, detail, rhythm, and even silence. Every experience helped refine my eye and made me understand that a strong image is never only about beauty. It is about what it leaves behind. That balance between visual precision and instinct is what shaped my approach.

Q. Why did you choose to move behind the camera?
Because at some point, looking was no longer enough. I wanted to build the image myself, to shape its light, its frame, and its emotional tone. Behind the camera, I found a real freedom. I discovered a space where I could translate an inner vision into something visible and lasting.

Q. What do you search for in a photograph?
I look for presence. An image can be technically perfect, polished, and beautifully composed, but if it has no soul, it remains incomplete. I am drawn to photographs that say something, that carry elegance, tension, emotion, or truth. For me, an image must leave a trace.

Q. Your visual world seems to move between fashion, portraiture, art, and luxury. How do these worlds come together in your work?
They come together very naturally. Fashion brings structure, rhythm, and attitude. Portraiture brings humanity, intimacy, and emotional depth. Art brings freedom of interpretation, while the world of luxury brings discipline, refinement, and attention to detail. They are different worlds, but they all meet in the same search for beauty and meaning.

Q. After so many years in the world of images, what remains essential to you?
Staying faithful to one’s own vision. You can evolve, change, grow, and explore other influences, but you must remain connected to your inner truth. That is what gives coherence to a body of work. In the end, I think we are always trying to deepen the same thing: a personal way of seeing and making others feel.

Q. Why did you create Art Vision Awards?
The answer is actually very simple. I shared my own art for many years, and today I want to share the art of other photographers. At a certain point, I felt the need to open a space, to bring visibility to other perspectives, other sensitivities, other visual languages. AVA was born from that desire to transmit, to support, and to celebrate artistic vision.

Q. What does AVA represent to you beyond being a competition?
AVA represents visibility, but also artistic recognition. It is not only a contest. It is a place where talent can be discovered, where vision can be celebrated, where opportunities can be created, and where photography can be given the value it deserves. I wanted to build something that feels demanding, inspiring, and internationally open.

Q. What kind of photography do you want to champion through AVA?
I want to champion photographers who have a real vision. Technique matters, of course, but technique alone is never enough. What interests me is singularity, intention, and the ability to express something through an image. Today there is an endless flow of visual content. What makes the difference is personality of vision.

Q. How do you see contemporary photography today?
I think it is incredibly rich, but also very saturated. There are images everywhere, all the time. That makes sincerity even more valuable. The photographs that remain are the ones that do not only try to impress, but truly express something. I strongly believe in the power of an inhabited image, an image that carries life inside it.

Q. What would you like people to remember about your journey?
I would like them to remember a deep loyalty to the image, to emotion, to elegance, but also this desire to share and transmit. My journey is not only about my own creations. Today, it continues through this commitment to supporting other artists, revealing new talent, and opening a wider conversation around photography.

https://www.instagram.com/gilzetbase/