Galería Blanca Berlín presents "Escala 1" by Apertura Madrid Gallery Weekend
Sep 12, 2022
Blanca Berlin Gallery
Isabel Muñoz (Barcelona, Spain, 1951)
For more than forty years, Isabel Muñoz (Barcelona, 1951) has traveled the world with her camera, portraying the feelings of human beings in their purest state. From the dignity of primitive tribes to the disconsolation of prisons; from the sensuality of dance to the denunciation of oppression; from the ecstasy that overcomes pain to the torment that can no longer be overcome.
In 2016 she was recognized with the National Photography Award, having previously won such prestigious awards as the World Press Photo 1999 and 2004,the Bartolomé Ross, the Unicef Spain, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts in 2009, the Madrid Community Award, etc. In 2018 she was one of those invited by the Friends of the Prado Museum Foundation to reflect on the artistic and historical richness of the museum, creating two exclusive pieces for its collection. Recently, she has been elected member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in the New Image Arts section.
His images are part of the most important public and private collections around the world, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Foto Colectania in Barcelona, Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.
Scale 1
The Catalan photographer shares with us her most recent projects, some of them unpublished in our country, such as the series The Spaniards which inspired the title of the exhibition, in reference to the harmony of proportions characteristic of purebred Spanish horses. Philip II gave birth to this lineage with the purpose of representing in the equine the qualities that, according to the monarch, should adorn the Spanish gentleman. For Muñoz, this quadruped is a noble, brave animal that also dances, maintaining that intimate connection with its rider that has made it worthy of the adjective "healer". The use of 24-karat gold to capture its elegance leaves us with a selection of small treasures that hide a vibrant spiritual heartbeat: in many religions, especially Hinduism and Buddhism, the faithful offer gold sheets to their gods to beg for their clemency.
The search for the origins of the human being is another recurring theme in his career and in Escala 1 he addresses it with the two images of sacred trees that announce the direction that his future research will take. On this occasion he experiments with chine collé, a 19th century technique that offers chromatic variations and textures of remarkable delicacy.
The exhibition also includes several works of video art and retrospective images, some unpublished, others especially recognized, using in many cases the platinotype, one of the most illustrious expressions of photographic art in whose execution Isabel Muñoz occupies a prominent international place.
As a final touch to the exhibition, and emphasizing the innovative spirit of the artist, a collection of jewelry based on fragments of her photographs, made by herself in collaboration with the goldsmith studio Malicia, will be exhibited.
