José Manuel Ballester is a Spanish painter and photographer, awarded the National Photography Prize in 2010 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. He graduated in Fine Arts in 1984 from the Complutense University of Madrid, and his artistic career began in painting, with a particular interest in the techniques of the Italian and Flemish schools of the 15th and 18th centuries. From 1990 onwards, he focused on architectural photography.

Among his numerous exhibitions are Lugares de paso (Valencia, 2003), Setting Out (New York, 2003), Habitación 523 (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2005), and Bosques de Luz (Kursaal, 2015). He has also participated collectively in exhibitions such as ARCO, the Art Institute of Chicago – Art Chicago, Art Forum Berlin, and Paris Photo, among others. In 1999, 2000, and 2002 he received the National Printmaking Prize, and his works are part of collections such as the Reina Sofía Museum, the Marugame Hirai Museum of Contemporary Spanish Art in Japan, and ARTIUM in Vitoria, among others.

The National Photography Prize was awarded to him in recognition of his career, his rigorous transition from the visual arts to photography, his singular interpretation of architectural space and light, and his contribution to the renewal of photographic techniques.

Ballester is not an artist of architecture, although most of his works are inspired by it; rather, he is an artist of spaces, silences, and reflective experiences. In each composition, he seems to emphasize presences that no longer exist, that may have already disappeared or have yet to arrive—restless spirits, metaphysical scenarios, watchtowers of new sources of life, or final resting places. The central axis of his artistic production is photography, characterized by a careful study of light and the use of large formats.