Minor White

A figure of enormous influence in 20th-century American photography, Minor White (Minneapolis, 1908–Boston, 1976) developed his concept of photography through a fascinating personal body of work, but also across virtually every sphere of the medium, from teaching to editorial and museum activities. Founder and editor of the magazine Aperture, he taught at some of the most important educational institutions on the American scene, such as the California School of Fine Arts, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Minor White drew on these platforms to convey and share his ideas and to achieve his goal of presenting the photographic image as a space for self-knowledge and spiritual transformation.

This project, which commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of his death, is the first major exhibition of his work to be presented in Europe. It features his most representative themes (nature photography, portraiture, and street photography), with special emphasis on his work with sequences —a format (“cinema of still images,” in his words) that White considered essential for constructing the meaning of his images—. Some of these works are being shown in Europe for the first time. A selection of documents —contact sheets, books, and magazines— ultimately provides a comprehensive view of Minor White’s scope as an artist, editor, and curator.

Curator: Carlos Gollonet (Chief Curator of Photography, Fundación Mapfre)

Curatorial Assistant: Lucía de Lucas (Fundación Mapfre)