Chema Madoz

The exhibition will be open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 24 June to 9 September in the Foundation's exhibition hall in Cerezales del Condado. It consists of twenty-two photographs, the result of the most recent work of this winner of the National Photography Prize (2000), known for his visual poems.

The poetic combination of matter and form charged with symbolism, a skilful photographic resolution of black and white, and a mastery of object scenography are some of the ingredients that characterise the unmistakable style of the photographer Chema Madoz (Madrid, 1958). Through a transversal gaze, the artist immerses us in an evocative creative universe, made up of authentic visual metaphors in which reality is mixed with the imaginary.

About the exhibition

Matter and form, black and white and even the idea of “object” are common aspects that have practically become clichés for a multitude of photographers. Above all this, Chema Madoz questions. He questions. In a methodical working process he questions the original function of the object, giving it a new meaning. He generates contradictions. He locates poetry. Without losing key references for the practice of 20th and 21st century art such as surrealism, Dadaism or conceptual art, he dwells on an interpretation of art that invites us to rethink the everyday.

His photography is not improvised. He works like a stage designer, manipulating the sign and its presence. He subtly tackles the ambiguity that envelops the world, playing with the deception and irony of objects: a coin that is a piggy bank for another coin evokes capitalism. He resorts to all sorts of metamorphoses: a seashell turned into a flower, a curtain that looks like a score or an allusion to the idea of the book as a container of voices.