Benidorm exhibits a selection of 44 photographs by Alberto García-Alix National Prize

Museu Boca del Calvari in Benidorm is exhibiting a new exhibition from today entitled ‘Under this light that drags my gaze into the shadows’ which is the work of one of the most important figures in our country in the field of photography, Alberto García-Alix (León, 1956). The mayor of the city, Toni Pérez, and the councillor for Historical and Cultural Heritage, Ana Pellicer, were in charge of inaugurating this exhibition, which can be visited until next November in our city and which includes a selection of 44 photographs that were part of the exhibition ‘From where there is no return’, which the creator made in 2007 for Museo Nacional Reina Sofía.

Ana Pellicer welcomed all those attending the opening and apologised for the absence of Alberto García-Alix, who “was looking forward to being with us and being our guide today at this exhibition”, but who was ultimately unable to travel to Benidorm as he is getting over a recent surgery. However, the councillor announced that “we are already working on another date, when he has got over”, to resume the visit of an author “who needs no introduction, as he has won awards such as the National Photography Award in 1999 and has exhibited in major galleries and museums around the world”. ‘Bajo esta luz que arrastra mi mirada a las sombras’ includes a selection of images, many of them self-portraits and portraits featuring characters from the ‘Movida madrileña’ and the counterculture, “taken in analogue and the unmistakable black and white of García-Alix”, explained Pellicer, who invited people to visit it at the Boca del Calvari and was convinced that “it will not leave anyone indifferent”.

The councillor concluded her speech by recalling that, with this exhibition, “there are already 36 exhibitions of painting, photography and other artistic representations, which this Boca del Calvari Museum has hosted since 2015”, something that has been possible “thanks to the commitment of this City Council and our mayor, Toni Pérez, to culture and to bringing art closer to citizens, both on the street and in this exhibition space”.

For his part, Mayor Toni Pérez joined Pellicer's invitation for citizens to come and enjoy this exhibition, which he defined as "a real luxury" for Benidorm. "Only with these images - he said, about one of the pieces in the exhibition - any of us can make an inner journey to a specific time and go through our history."

The exhibition 'Bajo esta luz que arrastra mi mirada a las sombras' can be visited for free from today until November 17 at Museu Municipal Boca del Calvari, from Monday to Sunday and from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

About the Author

Born in León in 1956, Alberto García-Alix is ​​primarily a photographer, and also an audiovisual creator, writer and editor. He held his first exhibitions in the early 1980s at the Moriarty and Buades galleries (Madrid) and Portafollio Gallery (London).

Throughout his career, his photographic and audiovisual work has been shown in spaces such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Les Rencontres Internationales d’Arlès, the Parisian Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the Museo Casa de la Fotografía in Moscow, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC), and the Museo Nacional del Prado, among many others. His works can be found in major art collections around the world, such as the German Deutsche Börse or the National Funds of Contemporary Art in France.

Among the many awards he has received are the National Photography Award (1999), the Photography Award of the Community of Madrid (2004), the PHotoESPAÑA Award (2012), and the ENAIRE Foundation Career Award 2022, the year in which he also received the PHotoEspaña Audience Award for the exhibition, “Fantasies in the Prado”, an exhibition in which he creates his imaginary based on the art gallery that houses the Prado Museum, using the technique of multiple photographic exhibitions on analogue film.

In addition, he has been a ‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France’ since 2012 and in 2019 the Spanish Ministry of Culture awarded him the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

As an author, he has published a dozen photography books and various audiovisual works where narrative and image complement each other. Among them, is ‘De donde no se volví’, a 40-minute film creation, acquired by the Museo Nacional Reina Sofía.

He was the director and founder of the cult magazine ‘El Canto de la Tripulación’ (1989-1997), and co-founder of Cabeza de Chorlito (2011-2023), a publishing house under which he has published some of his works: ‘El paraíso de los Creyentes’, 2011; ‘Diaporamas’, 2012; ‘MOTO’, 2015; the trilogy of the magazine ‘Motorcycle Family Circus’ (2016-2021) and ‘Archivo Nómada (2023)’.