DESCRIPTION

Four great photographers with wildly differing styles. Four different approaches to photography. Four different perspectives of one same theme.

Ricardo Cases, Paco Gómez, David Jiménez, and Adrian Tyler come together to explain what it was like to carry out “CLXX – Canal de Isabel II,” a commission inspired by the one received by Charles Clifford in the mid-19th century to photograph construction of the Canal de Isabel II. Today, almost 165 years later, these four photographers have followed steps other than Clifford’s to show the natural settings and wealth in heritage and landscape of the Canal in a contemporary, modern, and surprising way.

This meeting, led by Javier Ortiz-Echagüe, curator of the exhibition “Clifford. Vistas del Madrid de Isabel II (Clifford. Views of Isabel II’s Madrid),” will introduce the book, published for Canal de Isabel II’s 170th anniversary, with a prologue by Eduardo Martínez de Pisón. The event will touch on the similarities and differences between both projects, not only in terms of their approach, but also between 19th-century and modern photography. It will also address how joining these four very different styles has produced a great work of photographic art.

PARTICIPANTS

Ricardo Cases

Born in Orihuela, Alicante in 1971, he holds a degree in Information Science from the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao.

In 2006, he joined the photography collective Blank Paper. In 2009, along with designer Natalia Troitiño, he started up the publishing house Fiesta Ediciones. Since 2007, he has been working as a teacher at the Efti photography school and at CASA.

Winner of the Culture Award from the Community of Madrid 2017.

He has published the following books: Parques infantiles (Dalpine, 2021), Estudio elemental del Levante (Dalpine-Torch Press-The Ice Plant, 2020), Sol (Dalpine, 2018), El blanco (Dalpine, 2016), El porqué de las naranjas (Mack Books, 2014), Podría haberse evitado (Dalpine, 2015), Paloma al aire (Photovision-Schaden-Dewi Lewis, 2011), La caza del lobo congelado (Fiesta Ediciones-University of Cadiz, 2009), and Belleza de barrio (University of Extremadura, 2008).

Paco Gómez

Paco Gómez is a Road Engineer, but he never practised his profession. Since 1996, he has been working with images. Today, he balances photography with his work as writer, curator, and exhibition designer, and coordinating crowdfunding campaigns and publishing projects. Creator of the publisher Fracaso Books, he has published five books that explore the relationship between photography and literature: Los Modlin (2012), Proyecto K. (2015), Volverás a la Antártida (2017), Wattebled o el rastro de las cosas (2020), and Carta al hermano (2021).

David Jiménez

In 1993, he earned a degree in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid. He has been carrying out personal projects constantly since 1990, with books, exhibitions, and audio-visual screenings. They have been displayed at several locations within the country and abroad.

The first anthological exhibition of his work, entitled UNIVERSOS, was introduced in Canal de Isabel II’s Hall in Madrid in 2019, and at the University Museum of Navarre in 2020-21.

He was awarded Best New Photographer by PHotoEspaña 99 and the Art Award from the Villa de Madrid in 2008. He was a resident artist at the Royal Spanish Academy in Rome in 2016-17.

To date, he has published eight monographic books, including Infinito (2000), considered one of the most noteworthy Spanish photo-books in recent decades, versus in 2014, Aura in 2018, and Universos in 2019. His work is represented in several public and private collections, such as the MAPFRE Foundation, the Dos de Mayo Art Centre, the Arte DKV collection, and more.

Adrian Tyler

Adrian Tyler is a self-taught Anglo-Spanish photographer who uses photography as a way to deepen his knowledge of himself and the world around us. His personal projects delve into biographical, environmental, and political issues. In a large part of his work, he examines the transitory nature of time and reflects on the impediments that distract us from essential reality. He also collaborates with clients like Greenpeace, the Prado National Museum, Gehry Partners, and more, immersing himself in genres such as portraiture, still life, architecture, and landscape.

Throughout his career, Adrian has gone further in depth in many other themes that have broadened and enriched his concept of photography. For over twenty-five years, he has studied Samkhya philosophy and yoga with B. K. S. Iyengar. A large portion of his photographic archive is held at the Martin Parr Foundation.

MODERA: Javier Ortiz-Echagüe

Javier Ortiz-Echagüe is an art historian. He has curated exhibitions such as Norte de África. Ortiz-Echagüe (MNAC, Barcelona 2013) and Desbordamiento de Val del Omar (MNCARS, Madrid 2010), where he was assistant curator. He is author of the essay Yuri Gagarin y el conde de Orgaz. Mística y estética de la era espacial (Alzuza, Jorge Oteiza Museum Foundation, 2014), and has published books, such as the anthology of texts by José Val del Omar, Escritos de técnica, poética y mística (MNCARS, Madrid 2010) and, along with Horacio Fernández, the catalogue Fotos & libros. España 1905-1977 (MNCARS, Madrid 2014). He has taught as professor at several Spanish universities and worked as guest researcher at the Université de Provence (Aix-en-Provence, France, 2005) and at New York University (New York, USA, 2007 and 2012). He oversees collections and exhibitions at the University Museum of Navarre (2013-2015), and since 2019, has been working as art history professor at the University Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid).

VIDEO OF THE EVENT

Date and time
09/12/2021 18:30h.
Publication

You may purchase the book CLXX – Canal de Isabel II HERE

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