The Spanish photographer Carlos Pérez Siquier (1930-2021) is one of the leading figures of photographic modernism. He maintained a key position in Spanish photography, first through his neorealist works and later as a pioneer of colour photography. In cooperation with the Fundacíon MAPFRE, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) presents a retrospective of his most important series from 1957 to 2018.
The now legendary series La Chanca, begun in 1956, already conveys some stylistic features typical of Pérez Siquier: In the barrio of Almería, the artist photographed life on the fringes of society – first in black and white, and already with the sense of empathetic humour that is also noticeable in his later work. In the 1960s, the photographer decided to work in colour, sensually capturing the cultural changes in post-Franco Spain when an apparent consumer society started to emerge. Pérez Siquier also photographed La Chanca again in colour, and with this second viewing, despite the similarity of the motifs, developed clearly new pictorial effects.
On view at the FFF are around 130 works by the Spanish photographer, including previously unpublished images. Together with a comprehensive catalogue the exhibition contributes to a new understanding of Pérez Siquier’s oeuvre.
The show and the publication illustrate how the photographer, who remained in his native city of Almería throughout his life, became one of the most influential creatives in Spanish photography despite this peripheral status.
Already in the 1950s, he was a driving force behind the group AFAL (Agrupación Fotográfica Almeriense), the most important photographic collective in Spain at the time, and co-founder of the magazine of the same name. From Almería, Pérez Siquier engaged with Spain’s contemporary debates, and from there, in contact with other creative photographers in the country, he brought about radical deviations and breaks with the photographic artistic conventions of the time.
In 2003, he was awarded Spain’s National Photography Prize.
The exhibition PÉREZ SIQUIER, curated by Carlos Martín and Carlos Gollonet, is the FFF’s contribution to Spain’s Guest of Honour programme at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. The show was made possible in cooperation with Fundación MAPFRE, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and FFF.
Pérez Siquier
October 15, 2022 – January 15, 2023
Fotografie Forum Frankfurt
Braubachstr. 30–32
60311 Frankfurt
www.fffrankfurt.org
