Consuelo Kanaga. Catch the Spirit

The Catch the Spirit exhibition, which reveals the undeniable talent of the photographer, Consuelo Kanaga, will be on display from 30 May to 25 August in the Recoletos Hall at the Mapfre Foundation.

This exhibition is being presented in Europe for the first time and provides an extensive retrospective of the evolution of the American photographer, Consuelo Kanaga. Organised by the Brooklyn Museum in New York in collaboration with the MAPFRE Foundation and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the exhibition covers the six decades of the artist’s impeccable career.  Kanaga devoted much of her life to documenting the problems of the African-American population in the United States, ranging from social marginalisation or poverty to racial harassment and inequality.

Kanaga was one of the few women who worked as a professional photojournalist.  Starting this photographic practice at an early age (from 1910 in the United States), the photographer from Oregon was also one of the few women who maintained a close relationship with avant-garde circles.

The photographer paved the way for other female professionals in the sector, such as Imogen Cunningham or Dorothea Lange. In spite of her brilliant career, she remains relatively unknown in the history of photography. One of the main aims of the exhibition is to raise the awareness and recognition that Kanaga's work undoubtedly deserves.

Image Credits:

• Consuelo Kanaga. Tennessee, 1950. Brooklyn Museum, Gift by Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga © Brooklyn Museum
• Consuelo Kanaga. Hands, 1930. Brooklyn Museum, Gift by Wallace B. Putnam from the Estate of Consuelo Kanaga © Brooklyn Museum