ALEJANDRO CARTAGENA: A PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE FOR THE COLLECTIVE NARRATIVE

The Fundación MAPFRE presents Ground Rules, an extensive exhibition devoted to the work of Alejandro Cartagena (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1977), offering a survey of more than two decades of his artistic practice, particularly the body of work addressing the social transformations of Mexico, his adopted country. Curated by Shana Lopes, the exhibition brings together some of Cartagena’s most celebrated series, including Suburbia Mexicana, Carpoolers, and his border trilogy, projects through which the artist examines migration, housing, and the relationship between Mexico and the United States.

Cartagena has developed a photographic practice that deliberately distances itself from the traditional notion of the “decisive moment,” replacing it with seriality and the construction of complex visual narratives articulated through multiple points of view. Within his work, images function as interconnected networks structured around the collective rather than the individual. This approach enables a broader examination of the processes that shape everyday life and transform the contemporary landscape.

From the semantic implications embedded in the exhibition’s title, Ground Rules refers to the creative constraints Cartagena imposes upon each project. The conceptual significance of format, subject matter, and location emerges as central to his methodology, while simultaneously opening a space for interpreting and portraying the social forces that condition contemporary reality.

Alejandro Cartagena. Ground Rules can be visited until 30 August 2026 at the Fundación MAPFRE, Paseo de Recoletos 23, Madrid, Spain.