The exhibition, dedicated to the work of Guillermo Alarcón (1957-2019), features a wide selection of black and white images that do not follow a linear narrative but are structured in a circular path. This arrangement is based on the three conceptual axes that give the exhibition its title: 'Matter: The Trace of Doing', 'Machine: Order and Rhythm', and 'Memory: The Silence of Work'.
These concepts interact, inviting visitors to an "active construction of meaning," as reported by the València City Council. The exhibition proposal, curated by art specialist Ana Gandía Casasnovas, highlights Alarcón's ability to transform industrial spaces and metallic structures into settings with an "intense visual and symbolic charge".
Alarcón's photographs offer a "poetic approach" to matter, silence, and the geometry of the productive world. The first section, 'The Trace of Doing', emphasizes physical elements such as metal, stone, dust, or smoke, revealing their texture and density with an "almost sculptural" presence.
The second space, 'Order and Rhythm', establishes a parallel between the photographer's eye and that of the engineer, with compositions that highlight lines, rhythms, and repetitions characteristic of the industrial system. Finally, the section 'Memory: The Silence of Work' reflects on the passage of time, transforming empty factories and disused workshops into "silent places" that act as archives of "latent memory".
Guillermo Alarcón understood art as "a means to interpret the world and generate new forms of understanding," without having "practical utility.
The exhibition can be visited until June 28 at the València History Museum, from 10:00 to 19:00 on Tuesdays to Saturdays, and on Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 14:00.
