PHotoESPAÑA 2019
Things You Need To See
PHotoESPAÑA, the most important photography festival in Spain, turns 22. This year, 296 photographers will show their work in 85 exhibitions spread over six cities. In order to avoid you being overwhelmed by what’s on offer, here are a few essential visits in Madrid, Santander, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Segovia. Take note.
William Klein – Manifesto
When life itself is the theme, inspiration is as constant as it is abundant. In this first great retrospective in Spain, it’s obvious that the New York photographer sees the street and its people as perpetual study material.
Espacio Fundación Telefónica (Madrid)
C/ Fuencarral, 3
Until September 22
Diana Markosian – Over the Rainbow
In many Latin American countries, a girl’s 15th birthday party marks the transition into womanhood. Pompous dresses and bright colours abound in a celebration common to all social classes.
Casa de América (Madrid)
C/ Marqués del Duero, 2
Until July 31
Alexander Rodchenko – The Optical Thinker
Two portfolios, 41 images and 13 years of work perfectly summarise the material of this key figure of the Russian avant-garde. Rodchenko’s daughter and grandson, as well as gallery owner Howard Schickler, supervise this legacy belonging to the Lafuente Archive.
Center for Documentation of the Image (Santander)
C/ Magallanes, 30
Until July 31
Leila Alaoui – The Moroccans
Folk costumes are fundamental to any story of local customs and manners. Not only do they define a society aesthetically, they also act as an emotional thermometer. In the work of Leila Alaoui (who sadly died in a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso in 2016), documentation, sociology and fashion go hand in hand.
Casa Árabe (Madrid)
C/ Alcalá, 62
Until September 22
Donna Ferrato – Holy
Winner of the PHotoESPAÑA 2019 Prize for documenting, since the 1960s, the situation of victims of gender violence. This retrospective is full of violence and fragility in images captioned with handwritten descriptions.
Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid)
C/ Alcalá, 42
Until September 22
Avant-garde and propaganda – Russian Books and Magazines from the Archivo Lafuente 1913-1941
This is the second instalment of the exhibition The Soviet Century, highlighting the importance of collective work in publications belonging to this political current and school of thought. A reflection on the lack of freedom of expression among writers, artists and intellectuals.
Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid)
C/ Alcalá, 42
Until September 1
Group – OFFLAND. An Ideal Place, at Least
A collective exhibition that proposes a real or imaginary refuge where everything goes well. An exhibition in which landscapes as remote as they are familiar can end up becoming, unfortunately, vulgar, mundane and disappointing. Pure reality.
Centro Cultural Galileo (Madrid)
C/ Galileo, 39
Until July 23
Elina Brotherus – A New Sense of Order
The woman and the female universe are the central axis of the photo and video work of this Fluxus-loving photographer. Absence, presence and living beings are the protagonists of the experiences portrayed in each of her projects.
Cámara Oscura Galería de Arte (Madrid)
C/ Alameda, 16 – 1º
Until July 21
Sharon Core and Laura Letinsky – Double Take
Still life acts as an allegory on the cycle of human life. Splendour and death, strength and fragility abound in images of a beauty as finite as it is immeasurable.
Museo Nacional del Romanticismo (Madrid)
C/ San Mateo, 13
Until September 22
Javier Salas – In Azure and Gold
To be a female flamenco singer, you no longer need a dress with ruffles – you need an attitude and a good groan. This exhibition is essential if you want to have a good perspective of the current state of female flamenco. Tra, tra!
Ayuntamiento de Santander (Santander)
Town Hall Square, 1
Until September 1
Paula Anta – Knots: Topologies of Memory
Philosophy (through order and chaos) and physics (through matter and light) play the leading role in this exhibition in which nature presents itself as beautiful – sometimes tumultuous, and sometimes inaccessible.
Centro de Arte Alcobendas (Madrid)
C/ Mariano Sebastián Izuel, 9
Until August 24
Picasso, the Eye of the Photographer
The hunter who sometimes hunt and other times is hunted. This could sum up this peak into the life and work of this unprecedented creator, whose danger and lack of prejudice are admired without debate.
Museu Picasso (Barcelona)
Carrer Montcada, 15–23
Until September 24
Luis Areñas – The Last Ones. Portraits and Testimonies from the Spanish Civil War
Wrinkles, memories and oblivion converge in this exhibition that serves as a tribute to civil society: the major victim of any war.
Centro de Historias (Zaragoza)
Plaza de San Agustín, 2
Until 15 September
You cannot afford to miss these essential exhibitions, and if you want more, look and you will find.
