Zoe Leonard: Fotografías

The MNCARS presents the first international retrospective of the work of photographer Zoe Leonard. Consisting of approximately one hundred works, the exhibition features a selection of images taken by the New York artist since the 1970s. Curated by Lynne Cooke, the MNCARS Deputy Director for Conservation, Research and Publicity, and organised by the Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), the exhibition reveals Leonard’s interest in everyday contrasts: nature vs. the urban, and the manufactured vs. the original. The focal point of Leonard’s artistic career and of the present exhibit is photography as a definition of modern society.

Zoe Leonard refuses to view the photograph as a neutral document, opting instead to define it as a “subjective truth.” Her work is based on observation and memory, through portraying maps and anatomical models, showcases, museums and shops of her familiar environs. The artist is unencumbered by the protocols and conventions of photography, resorting even to printing processes that are all but obsolete. She works with the images over a long period of time, copying them in different sizes and on different papers, and she never edits them but rather accepts the imperfections that may emerge in the development process, such as dust or scratches.

One of the most outstanding pieces in this retrospective of her oeuvre is Analogue 1998-2007. Comprising an extensive selection of photographs, this project is organised conceptually rather than chronologically. The sets of images show the effects of globalisation through photographs of shops in New York and other major cities.

Zoe Leonard
Fotografías (Photographs)
Kurator: Lynne Cooke