MADRID - BLANCA BERLIN GALLERY PRESENTS “EVERYTHING I DREAM OR LOSE. MASTERS OF VINTAGE (1903-1991)”

“Everything I dream or lose,

That soon falls or dies in me,

Is like a terrace that looks

Towards something else beyond.”

-Fernando Pessoa

Todo cuanto sueño o pierdo. Maestros del vintage (1903 –1991) (Everything I dream or lose. Masters of vintage (1903-1991)) is a group show that brings together ten of the 20th century most recognized Spanish historical photographers: Ortiz Echagüe (1886-1980), Bartolomé Ros  (1906-1974),  Nicolás  Muller  (1913-2000),  Gabriel  Cualladó  (1925-2003),  Eugeni Forcano (1926-2018), Oriol Maspons (1928-2013), Ricard Terré (1928-2009), Carlos Pérez Siquier (1930), Ramón Masats (1931) and Toni Catany (1942-2013 ).

Gathering such a remarkable group of photographers is a complex task within the reach of only a few private galleries, but it is no less exceptional to find vintage or antique copies of each of them. In some cases, they are unpretentious prints whose initial purpose was not that of  being  exhibited,  but  which  have now  become  objects  of  desire  for photo  collectors across the globe. Vintage photography is very appreciated in the art world.

For those who are not familiar with the meaning of the term, “vintage” is a copy printed (or whose  print  has  been  approved  by  the  photographer  himself)  only  a  few  years  after  the shooting of the negative. Some experts set this period at five years, while others extend it to eight.  However,  when  it  comes  to  old  copies  whose  printing  date  was  undetermined, sometimes, the term vintage can also be applied.

The photographic processes used in the exhibited images are diverse: direct carbon printing (Fresson), silver gelatin, cibachrome print, false calotype... Each of these vintage copies is a sort of a jewel, sometimes enriched by the author's signature, annotations and stamps on the back, dedications, original mounting ... It may seem that the physical deterioration would devalue  the  copy,  but  if  a  print  presents  conditions  such  as  scarcity  or  rubric,  its  value increases drastically in the eyes of the connoisseur collector.

There is  a diverse set  of  themes,  although  the  selection of  the  fifty  exhibited  photographs shows the historical and daily dimension of Spain in the twentieth century. Blanca Berlín Gallery has gathered a lineage of innovative photographers with a great capacity for visual reflection, photographic talent, and a suggestive way of showing to the world an era already extinct, kept forever in the collective memory by the evocative power of the image.

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Located  in  the  heart  of  Madrid,  Blanca  Berlin  maintains  a  generous  selection  of photographs,  promoting  and  presenting  both  established  and  emerging  international artists to the art market in Spain and abroad. Additionally, the gallery has a wide selection of images which may be viewed in the many changing exhibitions programmed annually, as well as on the gallery’s website. The gallery, open since 2007 and directed by Blanca Berlín, also takes part in main international art fairs.

Galería Blanca Berlín

Limón, 28. 28015 Madrid, Spain

T./ +34 91 54 29 313 | +34 607 79 40 76

galeria@blancaberlingaleria.com

blancaberlingaleria.com

* Cover photo:

TONI CATANY

S/T Nº30 Somniar deus (TCA00107.003)

1991

Negativo sobre papel. Positivo baritado virado al selenio obtenido por contacto. Vintage (marzo 1991). Firmada, datada, titulada e inscripciones en reverso. / Negative on paper. Selenium toned printedbaryta paper by contact. Vintage (March 1991). Signed, dated, titled and inscribed on verso