Manuel Álvarez Bravo — Ministerio de Cultura — 1985 — Exhibition Catalogue

This substantial Spanish exhibition catalogue brings Manuel Álvarez Bravo’s photography into dialogue with the writers and artists who helped articulate its place in Mexican culture. Published for the retrospective at Madrid’s Salas Pablo Ruiz Picasso in 1985, it combines black-and-white photographs with contributions by Sergio Pitol, José-Miguel Ullán, Luis Cardoza y Aragón, Octavio Paz, Carlos Pellicer, Diego Rivera and Xavier Villaurrutia. Álvarez Bravo’s images move between everyday observation and poetic ambiguity: bodies, streets, interiors and ordinary objects acquire meanings that remain open to interpretation. The accompanying texts offer different approaches to that visual language and its relationship with modern Mexico. With catalogue design by Gonzalo Armero and coordination by Ullán, this large-format hardcover documents an important presentation of the photographer’s work in Spain.

Technical Sheet
Photographer: Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Publisher: Ministerio de Cultura, Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Archivos, Madrid
Published: 1985
Format: Exhibition catalogue
Exhibition: Salas Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Madrid, 30 April–15 June 1985
Curators: Ana Vázquez de Parga and José-Miguel Ullán
Catalogue coordination: José-Miguel Ullán
Catalogue design: Gonzalo Armero
Pages: 167 (library catalogue record)
Dimensions: Approximately 250 × 310 mm
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrations: Black-and-white photographs
Language: Spanish
Printing: Julio Soto, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid
Legal deposit: M-14771-1985
ISBN-10: 8450514274
ISBN-13: 9788450514278