The “De arboris perennis” exhibition by José Manuel Ballester, the 2023 ENAIRE Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, comes to the Naves de Gamazo
On 13 June at 7 pm, the “De arboris perennis” exhibition by José Manuel Ballester, the 2023 ENAIRE Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, will premiere at the Naves de Gamazo.
“De arboris perennis” relies on the language of photography to focus on environmental issues, caring for nature and our relationship with the environment.
José Manuel Ballester's work is part of an intense internal search, an infinite curiosity that leads him to capture with his camera those elements that surround him and move him, that connect with his inner world.
This project, which features works from different series, begins with his "hidden spaces", images of master paintings that, stripped of the inhabitants who populate them, highlight the landscapes that were confined to the background. These are settings where humans are nowhere to be seen, they have disappeared, creating an enigmatic void full of possibilities. They include Giotto's forest, an installation made up of five large canvases.
Along with these images, the exhibit takes visitors on a tour through many different places, such as New York's skyscrapers, a remote temple in Sichuan, subway exits in large cities, Parisian parks, the Brazilian jungle, gardens and orchards. All of these spaces are very different, but with a repeating element: the tree.
Margarita Asuar, managing director of the ENAIRE Foundation, explains that "this is an exhibition in which the photographer turns trees into protagonists to draw attention to our relationship with the environment. This exhibition by Ballester was first exhibited as part of PHotoEspaña 2023 at the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, and today comes to Santander, where, on the shores of the Sea of Cantabria, in the Naves de Gamazo Art Centre, the public will be able to enjoy this spectacular exhibition that brings together 38 large works”.
The exhibit is curated by Lola Durán Úcar, a PhD in Art History, and rounding it out is an 80-page catalogue, co-published with La Fábrica, which can be purchased at the Naves de Gamazo Art Centre.
In addition to winning the ENAIRE Foundation 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, José Manuel Ballester (Madrid, 1960), painter and photographer, has received the National Engraving Award (1999), the Goya Painting Prize of the City of Madrid (2006), the Photography Award of the Community of Madrid (2008), the National Photography Award (2010) and other awards throughout his career.
The “De arboris perennis” exhibition by José Manuel Ballester at the Naves de Gamazo.
Opening: 13 June at 7 pm.
Finalization: 22 September 2024.
Naves de Gamazo.
Avenida de Severiano Ballesteros, 3. Santander. Spain.
Instagram: @navesdegamazo
About ENAIRE Foundation
Is a cultural institution of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility that, in addition to managing, preserving and exhibiting the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, engages in a comprehensive annual programme of activities that focus on aeronautical art and culture. Notably, it is one of the institutions that currently provides the most support to photography through its annual prizes - which have become a benchmark for professional photographers - and by hosting exhibits.
It is the only foundation in Spain that combines the two seemingly disparate themes of art and aeronautical culture, bringing them together by undertaking a programme of activities that promote the study, research, knowledge and dissemination of aeronautical culture, integrating history and modernity to raise awareness of the world of aviation in our country.
The Naves de Gamazo are the first permanent home of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, an example of collaboration between government agencies that was made possible thanks to the partnership and joint efforts of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the Government of Cantabria, through the Office for Culture, Tourism and Sport, and the Port Authority of Santander, which share the operating expenses of the centre in order to ensure the present and future viability of this cultural project.
The ENAIRE Foundation is implementing digital museum resources to boost the democratisation of art and make it accessible from anywhere in the world. These new museum resources are now available on the Foundation's website.
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