photography

A new exhibition based on the work of Oriol Maspons looks at whether art can be ‘useful’ to society

In front of and behind the camera, Picasso made an instrumental and creative use of this discipline

The display of award-winning photojournalism from 2018 offers more than just a snapshot of some of the world's most important news stories

‘On Abortion’ is Laia Abril's first instalment of longer photography project condemning misogyny in the world

City in central Catalonia hosts 54 exhibitions in seventh edition of fair that expects to attract 40,000 visitors

'Robert Capa, in color' in Lleida shows variety of themes other than iconic black and white war and adventure shots

A new exhibition displays pictures of the Catalan painter, including Gala's first works

The ‘Bruce Davidson’ exhibition, the very first retrospective dedicated to the American photographer to be held in Spain is to open at the non-profit institution Fundación MAPFRE in Barcelona. The exhibition will run from the 28th of May until the 28th of August, after which it will embark on an international tour. Photographer Bruce Davidson has more than fifty years of uninterrupted work behind him (as well as membership of the prestigious photography co-op, Magnum), which are featured in chronological order in the exhibition. Along with Davidson’s most important photographs and series, the artist’s never-before-featured new works will also be on display. In the exhibition “we can see the stylistic evolution of his work but can also see a small condensed history of American photography from the second half of the twentieth century, which is, undoubtedly, a universal reference for photography”, explained the curator of the exhibition, Carlos Gollonet.

Barcelona’s CosmoCaixa science museum has inaugurated an exhibition replicating that of the Natural History Museum in London called ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’. The 100 photos on display were selected out of 42,000 images received in the eponymous contest put forth by BBC Wildlife Magazine in 2015. The pictures chosen for the exhibition were also selected because they stimulated “defence of biodiversity and protection of the environment” stated the director of Research and Knowledge of the ‘Fundació la Caixa’ foundation, Jordi Portabella. One can also admire the two winning images from the 2015 contest: ‘A tale of two Foxes’ and ‘Ruffs on Display’, taken respectively by Don Gutoski and Ondrej Pelánek.

Opening today, photography exhibition ‘Barcelona. The Metropolis in the Age of Photography 1860-2004’ tells the story of the Catalan capital with 1,000 works. The collection of photographs, magazines, documentaries and films is provided by 58 lenders which are primarily in Catalonia but also to be found in Madrid, Pamplona, Salamanca, Paris, Lausanne, London and even New York. The history of the city of Barcelona is separated into six major moments, within which one can observe the metropolis change with the World Fair, the expansion of the city, the opening of new streets, the rhetoric of new artistic movements, social struggles, the Civil War and the subsequent photographical documentation of the transition to democracy. Ending in 2004, this chronological exhibition represents curator Jorge Ribalta’s many years of intensive work exploring the relation between photographs and a city. 

‘Fotografia a Catalunya’ compiles Catalonia’s photographic patrimony into one website. This initiative is the first of the measures set out in the Photography National Plan, approved in 2014. “This website starts to make Catalonia’s photographic patrimony visible” stated current Catalan Minister for Culture, Ferran Mascarell, and added that by launching this website “a lifelong pending issue has been sorted out”. There are 1,600 pictures from 497 different photographers already available which summarise outstanding collections from the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and Barcelona’s Photographic Archive, amongst many others, and the aim is to extend the offering to 15,000 by the end of next year. Catalonia’s photographic patrimony includes more than 35 million pictures, kept in more than 323 public archives, museums and other centres all over the territory.

Barcelona's Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) is currently hosting the 134 photographs awarded by the 'World Press Photo', one of the most important photojournalism competitions. Until the 13^th of December, visitors can view a wide range of documentary photographs portraying scenes related to issues such as the Ebola epidemic, the Ukraine crisis and the migration drama in the Mediterranean. However, one of the most outstanding pictures to be displayed in Barcelona's CCCB is Mads Nissen’s 2015 winning picture, which portrays the intimacy of a homosexual couple in Saint Petersburg, and was vetoed at the last ‘Visa pour l'Image’ festival in Perpignan due to its "excessive dramatisation". The eleventh edition of the 'World Press Photo' exhibition also includes seven winning pieces in the media category. 

From Wednesday 29^th of April onwards, the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) will exhibit 'Gabriel Casas: Photography, journalism and modernity, 1929-1939', the first great monographic exhibition dedicated to one of the most important photographers of the interwar period. Standing out as the photographer who introduced 'New Vision' photography in Spain, Casas achieved "great maturity" in the decade represented in this exposition with 120 photographs and 4 thematic areas: 'Records', 'New Vision', 'Photography' and 'Portraits', as explained by the curator Juan Naranjo. The exhibition dedicated to Gabriel Casas is a cooperative production between the MNAC together with the National Archive of Catalonia and La Caixa's foundation for social and cultural work. The show will later travel to the CaixaForum art galleries in Girona (North-East Catalonia) and Tarragona (South Catalonia).

'On the Table. Ai Weiwei' opened this November at the Virreina Image Centre in Barcelona and will run until 1 February 2015. The exhibition shows the trajectory of the artist’s life through forty pieces, including photographs, videos and installations, some of which were created specially for the gallery in Barcelona. Through various routes, visitors can address the fundamental issues of the work of the controversial Chinese artist and political activist, including multidisciplinary themes, and those of non-conformity, dissent and the condition of media. The exhibition will take place in the Virreina Image Centre, an art centre on the famous Les Rambles walkway, and entry will be free of charge.

Photographer Colita has rejected the National Photography Prize awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture because of "the pitiful, shameful and painful" situation of the cultural sector in Spain. Colita, who was one of the main photographers portraying Barcelona's bohemian life of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, did so after another Catalan artist, the world-famous musician Jordi Savall, did the same last week for similar reasons. In both cases, the two artists highlighted that their reasons for rejecting the award were linked to the Spanish Government's cultural policies and had nothing to do with its blocking attitude towards Catalonia's self-determination process. Colita ironically stated that she "does not know where [the Spanish Ministry of Culture] is located, neither if it exists".