Exhibitions
The unique perspective of Carlos Pérez Siquier arrives at KBr Fundación MAPFRE
An exhibition explores the most emblematic series of the Andalusian photographer and vindicates his key role in the modernization of Spanish photography.
The photography of old times continues to fascinate for its authenticity: streets, faces and everyday scenes that today seem almost impossible to find again. This look full of life is precisely what the photographer Carlos Pérez Siquier (Almería, 1930–2021), one of the key figures of 20th-century Spanish photography, was able to masterfully capture. He is especially renowned for portraying the south of the country.
Now, a significant selection of his work can be visited at the KBr Fundación Mapfre until May 24, in an exhibition that offers a chronological journey through the photographer's career. Curated by Eva M. Vives and presented under the title Pérez Siquier. Fundación Mapfre Collections , the exhibition invites visitors to delve into the singular gaze of an author who knew how to capture with sensitivity and modernity the social and cultural changes of the second half of the 20th century.
An essential figure in the Spanish art scene, Carlos Pérez Siquier (Almería, 1930–2021) played a fundamental role in the consolidation of photography as an artistic and professional discipline in Spain. His work, deeply intuitive and often ahead of its time, contributed decisively to the development of a new photographic modernity in the country, marked by a personal look at the territory, daily life and social transformations of the time.
La Chanca, Almería, 1957. Fundación MAPFRE Collections © Pérez Siquier, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2026.
Committed to the photographic language and with a constant curiosity to explore its expressive possibilities, Pérez Siquier built a coherent and influential body of work over decades, which is today considered essential for understanding the history of contemporary Spanish photography. This institutional and artistic recognition culminated in 2003, when he received the National Photography Award, a distinction that highlighted a career marked by passion, rigor and an ever-attentive look at the world around him.
The exhibition tour brings together a wide selection of photographs from the collections kept by the Mapfre Foundation, and allows us to get closer to some of the most representative series of Carlos Pérez Siquier's career. Among them, we can highlight such significant projects as La Chanca , Informalismes , La platja , Traps for the Unwary , Troballes or La Briseña . This set of images offers a rich and diverse vision of his visual universe, marked by attention to detail, curiosity about the everyday and a deeply personal look at reality.
La Chanca, Almería, 1965. Fundación MAPFRE Collections © Pérez Siquier, VEGAP, Barcelona, 2026.
The current selection also aims to compensate, in a way, for the early closure —just three weeks after its inauguration— of the major retrospective that the foundation dedicated to the photographer in this same city five years ago, interrupted by the health crisis caused by COVID-19. Recovering these images today therefore means offering a new opportunity to rediscover an essential work in the history of Spanish photography.
The exhibition is thus conceived as a tribute to an author with a unique perspective, capable of capturing moments, emotions and scenes of everyday life with extraordinary sensitivity throughout his career. Beyond celebrating his work, the exhibition also vindicates Pérez Siquier's contribution to the visual and cultural heritage of an era, recalling that his photographs continue to challenge us today for their expressive power and humanity. In this sense, the exhibition proposal also becomes an act of recognition and gratitude towards the legacy of one of the great names in contemporary photography.
