KBr is the new Photography Center with which Fundación MAPFRE begins a new stage in its intense dedication to artistic photography, one of its main areas of cultural activity since 2009. The center is housed in one of the most iconic buildings of modern-day Barcelona: the MAPFRE Tower in the Olympic Marina. At the bottom of the tower, the exhibition center occupies the curved two-story projection between Avenida del Litoral and the seafront promenade. The name KBr Fundación MAPFRE Barcelona Photo Center refers to the chemical symbol for potassium bromide, a salt used in the analog photography development process, and a declaration of intentions from the institution's line, committed to the recovery of tradition and masters of photography, but also with contemporaneity.
There are two temporary exhibitions:
1. Edward Weston. The matter of shapes: the work of Edward Weston (Illinois, 1886 – California, 1958) offers a unique perspective on the establishment of photography as an artistic medium and its significant role within the context of modernism in visual arts.
2. Joan Andreu Puig Farran: A Decade of Turmoil (1929-1939): Puig Farran never had the opportunity to showcase his photographs in an exhibition during his lifetime. This exhibition recovers his work from a period of intense social and political upheaval.
Photo credits:
1. © Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents
2. Archivo Fotográfico La Vanguardia