Valentín Vallhonrat
01 Jun - 31 Jul 2007
© Valentín Vallhonrat
Lots of Merit, 2007. Photo-chemical version. Chromogenic print edition, silicone on plexiglas.133 x 217 cm
Lots of Merit, 2007. Photo-chemical version. Chromogenic print edition, silicone on plexiglas.133 x 217 cm
VALENTÍN VALLHONRAT in Tender Puentes (Building Bridges)
The Elba Benítez Gallery brings the Spring/Summer season to a close with an exhibition of works produced by photographer Valentín Vallhonrat (Madrid, 1956) for the Tender Puentes (Building Bridges) project organized by the Photographic Archive at the University Foundation of Navarre (FFF).
“The same reasons that prompted Talbot to abandon his The Pencil of Nature project, opened the floodgates to an unending stream of frustrations that entire generations of photographers have had to confront in regard to the resolution of the end image, to its faithfulness to the original, to the permanence of images, media and colour stability. Our tradition has invariably responded to these questions about communication, permanence, fear of fading and clinging to existence and objects, with technical answers”.
Valentín Vallhonrat, May 2007
By entering into a dialogue between the first 19th century photographs on paper and the work of 20th century artists and photographers, Tender Puentes, a project organized by the Photographic Archive at the University Foundation of Navarre (FFF) and curated by Rafael Levenfeld and Santiago Olmo, raises a variety of questions about the nature of 19th and 21st century iconography, such as the position of photography in relation to reality in both periods, photography as art and as documentation, reality and fiction. The Elba Benítez Gallery has arranged the space into 3 large blocks that present Valentín Vallhonrat's work for Tender Puentes, a selection of 19th century photographs belonging to the Collection of the F.F.F., and some pre-publication copies of the books about the project featuring its previous guest photographers.
In the first block, the visitor may contemplate works by Valentín Vallhonrat inspired by the inventory of the Royal Armoury in Madrid attributed to Clifford and executed by his wife Jane in the 19th century. These photographs include military helicopters, helmets, shields, torpedoes and all sorts of warlike objects from various periods and upon which, in essence, our culture has been has been built. A photo album also features all the pictures arranged on the walls of the room. Two of these pictures are large-scale studies that depict, respectively, full-body armour and a helicopter used in rescue missions, today at the Science Museum in Granada, made from five vertical digital shots tinged by an inverted negative photographic mask.
The second area is set aside for historical documents, 19th century pieces by the pioneers of early photography that include a waxed calotype paper negative by Gustave de Beaucorps, Photoglyphs from 1858 printed by William Henry Fox Talbot from glass negatives by Saulier and Clouzard, a panorama on albumen paper made by the Valencian photographer José Martines Sánchez in 1867 for the Album of Public Works and a photograph from the 60's attributed to Charles Clifford.
Lastly, three open books are on display featuring pictures taken by Roland Fischer (Saarbrücken, 1958), Joan Fontcuberta (Barcelona, 1955) and Bleda y Rosa (Castellón, 1969 – Albacete, 1970) all of whom have previously taken part in Tender Puentes.
The work of Valentín Vallhonrat revolves around the truthfulness of the photograph as a document and the relationship between image and reality. Of his many exhibitions, it is worth highlighting the ones that were held at the Palau de la Virreina in Barcelona, at the Sputkik PAD in Tokyo, at the Espacio Caja de Burgos, at the Espacio Uno of the MNCARS and at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid; as well as major group exhibitions at the MACBA, the Fundación la Caixa in Barcelona and the IVAM, Valencia.
Luisa Espino
The Elba Benítez Gallery brings the Spring/Summer season to a close with an exhibition of works produced by photographer Valentín Vallhonrat (Madrid, 1956) for the Tender Puentes (Building Bridges) project organized by the Photographic Archive at the University Foundation of Navarre (FFF).
“The same reasons that prompted Talbot to abandon his The Pencil of Nature project, opened the floodgates to an unending stream of frustrations that entire generations of photographers have had to confront in regard to the resolution of the end image, to its faithfulness to the original, to the permanence of images, media and colour stability. Our tradition has invariably responded to these questions about communication, permanence, fear of fading and clinging to existence and objects, with technical answers”.
Valentín Vallhonrat, May 2007
By entering into a dialogue between the first 19th century photographs on paper and the work of 20th century artists and photographers, Tender Puentes, a project organized by the Photographic Archive at the University Foundation of Navarre (FFF) and curated by Rafael Levenfeld and Santiago Olmo, raises a variety of questions about the nature of 19th and 21st century iconography, such as the position of photography in relation to reality in both periods, photography as art and as documentation, reality and fiction. The Elba Benítez Gallery has arranged the space into 3 large blocks that present Valentín Vallhonrat's work for Tender Puentes, a selection of 19th century photographs belonging to the Collection of the F.F.F., and some pre-publication copies of the books about the project featuring its previous guest photographers.
In the first block, the visitor may contemplate works by Valentín Vallhonrat inspired by the inventory of the Royal Armoury in Madrid attributed to Clifford and executed by his wife Jane in the 19th century. These photographs include military helicopters, helmets, shields, torpedoes and all sorts of warlike objects from various periods and upon which, in essence, our culture has been has been built. A photo album also features all the pictures arranged on the walls of the room. Two of these pictures are large-scale studies that depict, respectively, full-body armour and a helicopter used in rescue missions, today at the Science Museum in Granada, made from five vertical digital shots tinged by an inverted negative photographic mask.
The second area is set aside for historical documents, 19th century pieces by the pioneers of early photography that include a waxed calotype paper negative by Gustave de Beaucorps, Photoglyphs from 1858 printed by William Henry Fox Talbot from glass negatives by Saulier and Clouzard, a panorama on albumen paper made by the Valencian photographer José Martines Sánchez in 1867 for the Album of Public Works and a photograph from the 60's attributed to Charles Clifford.
Lastly, three open books are on display featuring pictures taken by Roland Fischer (Saarbrücken, 1958), Joan Fontcuberta (Barcelona, 1955) and Bleda y Rosa (Castellón, 1969 – Albacete, 1970) all of whom have previously taken part in Tender Puentes.
The work of Valentín Vallhonrat revolves around the truthfulness of the photograph as a document and the relationship between image and reality. Of his many exhibitions, it is worth highlighting the ones that were held at the Palau de la Virreina in Barcelona, at the Sputkik PAD in Tokyo, at the Espacio Caja de Burgos, at the Espacio Uno of the MNCARS and at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid; as well as major group exhibitions at the MACBA, the Fundación la Caixa in Barcelona and the IVAM, Valencia.
Luisa Espino