XAVIER GUARDANS TRAVELING LIGHTS
NOVEMBER 11 - DECEMBER 23, 2015
Opening Reception & Book Signing with the Artist
Wednesday, November 11, 5 - 8PM
SOCO Gallery, in conjunction with Fortuny, is pleased to announce Traveling Lights, an exhibition of photographs by Spanish photographer, Xavier Guardans. This will be Guardans’ first solo exhibition in the United States, and his first exhibition at SOCO Gallery located at 421 Providence Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. A selection of fourteen works will be on view along with limited signed copies of his new monograph, Traveling Lights, published by Damiani and distributed by D.A.P. The opening reception and artist book signing will be held on Wednesday, November 11th from 5 - 8PM. The exhibition will be on view through December 23rd.
Traveling Lights is an investigation of the revealing qualities of light in diverse environments. Each work in the series is a visual poem, inviting the viewer to be still and simply look; a rare luxury in today's perpetually connected and demanding world. This way of slowing down and seeing has guided Guardans’ philosophy since he lived in Japan during the late 80s. The series Traveling Lights began organically, through an inspired moment in Egypt eighteen years ago, and now spans fourteen countries including Kenya, Belize, China, Senegal, Vietnam, Spain and the United States among others. Photographs in the series were shot on film, using a medium format Hasselblad camera.
Traveling Lights connects space and time without distinguishing location or date, and creates a unified image of the world… As a diligent student of the world, Guardans offers us an opportunity to stop spinning and appreciate the particular beauties that surround us every day. - excerpt from the afterword by Amelia Rina.
Fortuny is a textile brand founded by Mariano Fortuny, who was born in Spain in 1871. He later became one of the most influential textile and fashion designers of the 20th century. Among countless other creative pursuits, Fortuny esigned fabrics specifically for museum installations as a complementary foundation to display fine art. New York interior fashion designer, Countess Elsie McNeill Lee, became an exclusive U.S. distributor of Fortuny fabrics in 1927 after seeing the textiles hanging in the Carnavalet Museum in Paris. The Riad family has owned Fortuny since 1988, and at the urging of the Countess, has continued production since her death in 1994 in the original factory using the same machines and secret techniques developed by Mariano Fortuny. The Riads brought the company into modern times, while remaining steadfastly committed to their incredible legacy. Xavier Guardans’ work will be displayed on a wall specially designed for the exhibition, and wrapped in fabric by Fortuny. SOCO Gallery is proud to bring these two Spanish visionaries together for the first time.
Xavier Guardans (B. 1954, Spanish)
Guardans, born in Spain, has had solo exhibitions in galleries throughout France and Spain, and his photographs are included in the permanent collections of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, and the Center of Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.