Albarrán Cabrera | Photographic Syntax
Albarrán Cabrera, The Indestructible #60020, 2022 Pigment print on gampi paper, gold leaf 13 x 19 in, Edition of 10 (#7/10), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
Written and Photo Edited by Wenjie (Demi) Zhao
Copy Edited by Kee’nan Haggen
Photographic Syntax, the recent exhibition by Albarrán Cabrera at the esteemed Marshall Gallery, on view through July 8th in Santa Monica, California, is a substantial journey into the boundless possibilities of photographic artistry. The Spanish artist duo Angel Albarrán and Anna Cabrera, renowned for their insightful contemplations on memory, identity, and time, continue to engage deeply with these ideas across the thirty-five works on display.
The exhibition showcases a diverse selection of their creations spanning the past decade, beginning with their early experiments in silver gelatin and platinum palladium prints and culminating in their now iconic vibrant landscapes. These landscapes, printed on Japanese gampi paper over gold leaf, generate an intense, luminous effect that is undeniably captivating. The collection also introduces their most recent ventures into color carbon printing and prismatic abstractions of polarized light, thus extending their unique visual vocabulary.
Albarrán Cabrera, Polarized #55002, 2023, Pigments, Japanese gampi paper and gold leaf 18 3/4 x 15 in, Edition of 10 (#3/10), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
Albarrán Cabrera, The Mouth of Krishna #60606, 2016 Pigments, Japanese paper and gold leaf 12 5/8 x 18 7/8 in, Edition of 10 (#3/10), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
What sets Albarrán Cabrera apart is their profound integration of concept and craft. They transform photography from a tool capturing mere visual representation to one that seeks the “underlying structure” of reality. By deliberately employing askew or inverted visual orientations, the artists invite viewers to delve beneath the surface, to question and reevaluate their perceptual habits.
This investigative ethos permeates their technical process as well. The duo harness a variety of procedures — pigments, silver, cyanotype — to complement the feeling or message in each image. These techniques imbue each photograph with unique textural, tonal, and reflective characteristics, thus deepening their narrative and emotive resonance.
Albarrán Cabrera, The Mouth of Krishna, #813, 2019 Pigments, Japanese paper and gold leaf 6 3/4 x 10 1/4 in, Edition of 20 (#2/20), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
Albarrán Cabrera, The Indestructible #34128, 2022 Carbon print, 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in, Edition of 10 (#5/10), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
A compelling aspect of their practice is the extensive range of printing processes they employ. This exploration manifests as an alchemical curiosity, seen in their use of platinum, palladium, cyanotype, or gelatin silver print. Further, the artists add tonal depth to their prints by using selenium, sepia, or tea toning or by inventing new techniques. This quest to transcend the visual element is echoed in their philosophy of letting “images sleep,” encouraging viewers to dwell on the deeper layers of an image.
Albarrán Cabrera, The Mouth of Krishna #60885, 2019 Pigments, Japanese paper and gold leaf 19 x 13 in, Edition of 10 (#5/10), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
Albarrán Cabrera’s art sparks a profound inner dialogue about memory and experience. Their images, which skillfully interplay textures, colors, finishes, and tones, challenge traditional notions of time, place, and identity, promoting a fresh understanding of the viewer‘s personal experience and perception.
Rooted in personal narratives, Albarrán and Cabrera’s passion for photography started at a young age. Albarrán was inspired by his grandfather, a carpenter who crafted cameras, while Cabrera discovered her love for photography during a teenage trip to Paris. Their shared experiences attending workshops, extensive travels, and explorations in literature and science lend an intimate depth to their collective work.
Albarrán Cabrera, The Mouth of Krishna, #904, 2022 Pigments, Japanese paper and gold leaf 10 1/4 x 6 3/4 in, Edition of 20 (#6/20), Courtesy of Marshall Gallery, Santa Monica
Photographic Syntax is not just an exhibition but a thought-provoking exploration of photographic art. The works of Albarrán Cabrera provoke a philosophical dialogue between the viewer and the artwork, compelling audiences to look beyond the visible layer. Their innovative amalgamation of photographic intricacies and existential contemplations offers a remarkable experience that extends beyond mere visual aesthetics, engrossing viewers in a journey of introspection and reinterpretation of reality.
