Hector Garcia: Sixty Years of Remarkable Photography at Throckmorton Fine Art
© Hector García, Courtesy by Throckmorton Fine Art
By Helena Calmfors
Throckmorton fine art is currently showing over 40 works by Hector Garcia (1923-2012). Garcia was a photographer and photojournalist and became famous for his portrayals of people in his hometown, Mexico City, where he photographed both celebrities of his time as well as workers and street people. The exhibition represents the body of his works by featuring both portraits of Frida Kahlo as well as images of anonymous people on the streets of the city.
It is the images of the city’s inhabitants that really catch the eye. They exude a sincerity and naturalness in the way they capture people in their everyday lives, all in beautiful black-and-white imagery. One of the most startling images in the show is The Boy in the Belly of Concrete (Nino en el vientre concreto, 1952) showing a dirty and distorted child crawled up in a concrete hole, capturing the tragic life of street children. It’s an image that is hard to forget and its impact lies in the balance between reality and aesthetic.
© Hector García, Courtesy by Throckmorton Fine Art
Garcia has been said to explain the essence of photojournalism as being “trapped between the demands of information and aesthetic” and it is his success in balancing between the two that results in such haunting images. He succeeds in capturing emotional strength in all his subjects, whether it’s a photograph of Frida Kahlo, a portrait of a smiling young woman or a documentation of the hard life of factory workers.
The exhibition is up until November 26th, 2016. Throckmorton Fine Art is located at 145 East 57th Street, 3rd floor, open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11-5.
