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The Paco Gómez archive

The poetic moment and the architectural image

21.03.18

The Fundación Foto Colectania presents "The Paco Gómez archive. The poetic moment and the architectural image", curated by Alberto Martín and dedicated to the photographer Francisco Gómez (Pamplona 1918 - Madrid, 1998), considered one of the most unique photographers of that group of authors who reinvented Spanish photography in the middle of the last century. The exhibition is organized and produced by the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion of the Community of Madrid in collaboration with the Photo Colectania Foundation, and with the collaboration of the Fundación Banco Sabadell.

The aim of the exhibition is to show the diverse facets of Francisco Gómez's extensive photographic career, through the more than 150 photographs and other materials such as magazines and publications included within it. A journey of extremes taking us from poetic moments where time is suspended and reality is transcended, defining what can be considered the most characteristic and well known part of his repertoire, to the architectural image as a poetic interpretation of architecture, which is typical of his approach to this subject matter. It is precisely through architectural photography that this exhibition makes greatest impact, an extensive body of work from Francisco Gómez that is nevertheless scarcely known, to which, however, he devoted most of his career through extensive collaborations with the magazine Arquitectura, published by Madrid’s Official College of Architects.

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    [Casa Sindical. Madrid], 1974

    Arqs. Francisco de Asís y Rafel Aburto

    Inyección de tinta, copia actual, 27x27 cm

    © Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    [Edificio Centro. Madrid], 1968. Arqs. Genaro Alas y Pedro Casariego

    Gelatina de plata, copia actual, 30x24 cm.

    © Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

     

    “He is one of the few photographers who consciously developed a practical urban documentary. He photographed a fundamental time for architecture in our country (from the 60s to the mid 70s) in which there was an important renovation through well known names and works,” explains Alberto Martín, curator of the exhibition. And he adds that his photographs transmit "an almost existential realism, of beauty and wonder before these works.”

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    Vivienda unifamiliar Somosaguas, Arq. Javier Carvajal, 1969

    ©Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

     

    The architectural images of the prestigious photographer get a great expressive power thanks to the games of lights and shadows, the breaks of corners, walls and stairs, and unusual perspectives. An example is the photograph Torres Blancas, 1968 of Madrid (architect Javier Saez de Oíza) or the Somosaguas single-family dwelling of 1969 (architect Javier Carvajal).

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    [Barrio de la Concepción. Madrid], 1966

    Gelatina de plata, copia de época, 30x24 cm

    © Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

     

    Francisco Gómez captured the growth of Madrid’s outlying suburbs, areas where the city abruptly ends and the countryside begins, and where the human figure is placed surrounded by harsh and austere landscapes. His work occupies that territory between realism and abstraction, a subjective approach to photography that reflects the neo-realism characteristic of its time.

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    Torres Blancas, 1968

    ©Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

     

    The curator of the exhibition points out “he was the manager of a family tailor shop in Madrid, which he portrayed in some photographs. He was a reserved person. And he exercised a discreet photographic practice like that of architecture, which was published in a pioneering magazine at the time aimed at professionals.”

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    [Fábrica de embutidos Postigo. Segovia], 1966

    Arqs. Francisco de Inza y Heliodoro Dols

    Gelatina de plata, copia de época, 40x50 cm

    © Archivo Paco Gómez / Fundación Foto Colectania

     

    This exhibition, according to the curator, "is a journey through his career, expanding on our existing knowledge of his work.” It begins with a selection of photographs that gives us the context of his beginnings as a photographer, between 1957 and 1963. From here, different chapters show the evolution and obsessions of Francisco Gómez: the medianerías and the walls, how he interprets architecture , the periphery or the migration from the countryside to the city, among others. In addition, more than 40 covers of the magazine Arquitectura of which Gómez was the author were exhibited.

  • The Paco Gómez archive

    Fundación Foto Colectania at Carrer de Picasso

     

    The exhibition cover muchs of the archive and the enriching influence that the two universes that he shared had on his work: his facet as author (his best-known photograph to date), together with his professional production in the field of architecture photography and editorial collaborations.

  • From 21 March to 17 June
  • Fundación Foto Colectania
  • Passeig Picasso 14