Relato cartográfico - Carles Fontserè

This catalogue includes images of the photographs featured in the “Relato cartográfico” (Cartographic tale) exhibition by the artist Carles Fontserè held at the Palau Solterra Museum in 2018. Thus, this is a contemporary art catalogue that recalls the aforementioned exhibition and allows for it to be enjoyed again at home.

The Vila Casas Foundation is hosting the photographic exhibition “Relato cartográfico” as a closing act for the birth centenary of Carles Fontserè (Barcelona, 1916 – Porqueres, 2007) to bring to an end the celebration of a centenary whose main aim has been to highlight the importance of Carles Fontserè as a photojournalist. With a long career in different disciplines such as photography, painting, posters, scenography, drawing and writing, Fontserè was recognised from a very young age for his banner illustrations during the Spanish Civil War. In 1963, having been to France, Mexico and New York, Fontserè travelled to Europe and more specifically, to cities with a great documentary filmmaking tradition, such as Rome, Paris and London, with the aim of publishing photobooks, as was becoming increasingly popular all around. However, this ambitious project was frustrated due to Fontserè’s lack of relevance in the Spanish central nucleus of writers, publishers and photographers, which always kept him on the social periphery.

The exhibition “Relato cartográfico”, curated by Natàlia Chocarro and Mercè Vila, presents a selection of photographs that document the city of London at a time of social effervescence. Fontserè’s photographs combine what he calls “human geography” with the city’s iconic architecture, with a result that bears witness to a rapidly changing London, one which has become a cultural centre of youth, fashion and modernity. “Relato cartográfico” allows us to roam the streets of London while watching the Palace of Westminster, Soho or Piccadilly Circus as a real scenario of a generation marked by Swinging London, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.