Misterio y Evolución

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, Fundación Telefónica and the National Art Museum of Cataloinia present an anthology of the work of Toni Catany, winner of the National Award for Photography. The exhibit displays 140 photos of various subject matter, genres and idioms.

Toni Catany, the artist in his paradise, brings together the central work of this Majorca-born photographer, considered by critics as one of the most personal artists in contemporary Spanish photography. On exhibit we can see his calotypes (1979-1982), still lifes, nudes, portraits, views of archeological ruins, and the latest Polaroid transfers (1994-2000).

The exhibit, produced by the National Art Museum of Catalonia and designed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, is the first as part of an agreement by which Fundación Telefónica allows the National Committee of Fine Arts and Culture to use its exhibit rooms to show the work of National Photography Award winners.

The following people attended the presentation of the exhibit: the artist, Toni Catany; the general director of Fundación Telefónica, Fernando Villalonga; the general director of Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage of Catalonia, Joaquín Puig; the vice-director of Fine Arts Promotion, Elena Hernando Gonzalo; and the director of the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Eduard Carbonell Esteller.

A COMBINATION OF OLD STYLE PHOTOGRAPHY AND MODERN TECHNIQUES

This exhibit presents us with the full evolution of Toni Catany’s career. His body of work is considered to be one of the most personal in contemporary Spanish photography, and he, to be one of the most independent artists currently on the art scene.

The exhibit it organized according to genres: It displays his early calotypes (1979-1982), still lifes, male nudes, portraits, views of sites with archeological ruins along the Mediterranean, and the latest Polaroid transfers. All of theses idioms and supports are manifestations of his personality through images.

Catany, who is always seeking new formats, employs a method that takes its inspiration from both the oldest photography techniques (such as calotypy) as well as the most modern techniques of polaroid.

Catany’s paradise shows us the Eden of his creative world, basing it on Barcelona where he lives and all the countries which he has visited.

A COLLECTION OF VARIOUS PHOTOGRAPHIC GENRES

The collection reflects the multiple vision of this Majorca-born artist, bringing together (according to genre) his still lifes, archeological views from the Mediterranean coast, portraits from his extensive travels and a series of nudes of dancers.

Catany’s still lifes are predominantly characterized by the colors used. They are accented by elements from literature, music, painting, and photography. Among the subjects photographed are embroidered fabrics, figurines, old toys, shells, butterflies, rotten fruit and flowers (mimosas, violets, roses and tulips).

Catany’s first trip as an illustrator was to Egypt in 1968. He later moved on to Israel and Italy. He shot portraits of temples, churches and museums, compiling them all into two bodies of work: Meva Mediterrània, in 1990, and Obscura Memòria, in 1994.

After 1994 Catany begins to opt for Polacolor 809 film for photographing the human face. The image is affected by the laboratory developing processes of each place which he visits, since most of Catany’s portraits are done abroad. His book , Chango, based on a trip of his to Cuba, belongs to this series of portraits.

Catany’s nude phase complements that of portraits and is the result of his studies of the human body. This phase begins in 1987, with the artist using dancers to give shape to his models, since dancers are experts in body movement. He has always strived to photograph bodies without the intrusion of artificiality, resulting in a series that is both honest and carnal in nature.

Exhibition

Catalogue