Monday, June 15, 2023, 19.00
15 May –30 June 2023
→ Cervantes Institute, Čika Ljubina 19
Ricardo Santonja generates with his framing and his “poems of light” a vision of spaces that are liveable. He seizes images throughout (Spain’s) national geography, focusing not only on large emblematic buildings, but also on the more practical architecture in citizens’ daily lives, such as health centres, churches, public and private housing projects, sports centres, factories or industrial buidlings, etc…
Through these photographs, Ricardo Santonja explains the evolution of a growing Spain that, during this century, has learnt to adapt to the new times, creating essential infrastructures necessary for the communication and functioning of any country. During this time and in parallel, architecture has also evolved, creating emblematic buildings, and extraordinary public and private architectural works, giving birth to public scenography of great aesthetic quality.
All these photographs are part of different exhibitions, such as “The art of building in Spain” o “Engineering and Architecture”, sponsored by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation – AECID and the Ministry of International Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain. Both titles, in different formats, have travelled around the world and have been shown in exhibition in cities like Kiev, Muscat, Tokyo, Moscow, Rome, Tallinn, Riga, Algiers, Brasilia, Curitiba, Recife, Managua and Grenade.
This project is supported by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The aim is to understand, through photography, the development and real potential of Spain during these years. The spectator is summoned to discover a wonderful country and to witness this incredible evolution, only possible through the effort of Institutions, private companies and, of course, of the citizens. “Architecture and photography are like muses who play to communicate with humans; they shelter us, they make us dream, they transform our world, write our memories. When they come together, they create a unique sensation that spreads like gunpowder, casting light on collective thinking. When the night comes, they sleep and dream. At dawn, they wake up and continue dreaming.”
