Chema Madoz’s anthological exhibition in Santander

A world reference in contemporary photography, Chema Madoz (Madrid, 1958) is recognized for his ability to transform the everyday into something magical. Through his images, the artist creates a world of objects and elements that blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Curated by Borja Casani, the exhibition, which will be open until March 16, 2025 at the Centro de Arte Naves de Gamazo in Santander, is a unique opportunity to explore the career of one of the most influential photographers on the international scene.

It brings together more than a hundred of his most emblematic works, as well as several sculptural objects, created over a 40-year career. Each photograph invites the viewer to a deep reflection, without explanatory labels, so that the interrelation between the work and the viewer is direct. All the exhibited pieces, which allude to the multiple meanings of things and their abstraction, have been physically made by the author. What Madoz achieves with his photographic capture is to portray a concept. “In the more than one hundred works gathered, Chema Madoz shows us the sensorial language of objects and their latent meanings. All matter is full of meaning and its place in the world gives it significance,” says the curator.

In the exhibition, organized in less than a month, you can also see the RTVE documentary entitled Chema Madoz. Regar lo escondido, belonging to the series Imprescindibles de La 2, which includes an interview with Chema Madoz by Ana Morente “that will bring us closer to the person and the creative artist without limits”, in the words of the managing director of the Enaire Foundation.

Thanks to his ability to manipulate visual perception, Madoz’s approach combines surrealism and visual poetry in a sublime way. His compositions seek not only to surprise, but also to provoke reflection on the infinite possibilities of common objects. In one of his interviews, Madoz revealed that, if he were an object, he would see himself as a book. However, the public might think that he would, in fact, be a camera, a perfect symbol of his ability to capture and transform reality.

On the occasion of the celebration of his three decades of creativity, the ENAIRE Foundation, with a long history in supporting the art of contemporary photography, awarded in October to Chema Madoz the Honorary Photography Prize 30th Anniversary, an award endowed with 17,000 euros, in recognition of his contribution to the art of photography. This is in addition to prestigious awards he has received, such as the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2019), and the National Photography Award (2000), the PHotoEspaña Award and the Higashikawa Award, which coincide in recognizing his ability to create a unique and evocative language that has captivated audiences around the world.

For the awarding of this prize, the ENAIRE Foundation, whose ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art has three of his works since 2011, has had an extraordinary jury of renowned prestige, made up by Enrique Moral Sandoval, Rafael Canogar, Claude Bussac and María García-Yelo, who have collaborated with the ENAIRE Foundation throughout these 30 years of history, as well as Ángeles Imaña, Director of Conservation and Cultural Projects, and Margarita Asuar, Managing Director of the ENAIRE Foundation. In the memory of his followers is undoubtedly the fantastic exhibition devoted to him in 1999 by the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, which was the first retrospective of a living Spanish photographer.

Besides the large exhibition at the Naves de Gamazo, Fundación ENAIRE has prepared a smaller but equally significant version at the art capsule of the Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport. In this space, eight works by Madoz are exhibited, which allow the public passing through the airport to enjoy his work in an accessible format. Also, thanks to new technologies, visitors can view these same works virtually through the “Window to Art”, an innovative museographic proposal that connects the airport space with the art center.

During the four months of the anthology, this cultural institution, under the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, which combines art and aeronautical culture, will offer a selection of catalogs, published exclusively by La Fábrica (Fotopoemario, Nuevas Greguerías, Crueldad and Obras Maestras), 40% of the sales of which will go to those affected by the dana in the Valencian Community.