Born in Guatemala in 1957, he lives and works in Cordoba, Argentina. Among his personal exhibits we can mention: those displaying his personal works are: The Art Institute of Chicago (USA); The Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe (USA); The Australian Centre for Photography, Australia; Palacio de Bellas Artes, México; The Royal Festival Hall, London; Palazzo Ducale di Genova, Italia; MACRO and the Castagnino Museum, Rosario, Argentina, Telefonica Foundation and Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo in Spain; photographic festivals such as Photofest in Houston, and in Bratislava, Slovakia; Les Rencontres de Arles, France; PhotoEspaña, Madrid; Singapur, Bogotá, San Pablo and Caracas, among others.
He has participated in collective exhibitions such as the 49 and 51 Biennial in Venecia; Fotobeinal de Vigo, XXIII Biennial in Sao Paulo, Brasil, V Biennial in Habana; in the Ludwig Forum for International Kunst, Aachen, Germany; The Taipei Art Museum, Korea; Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Daros Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland; Palacio del Conde Duque, Madrid, Spain; and the Fargfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden.
His work is included in various public and private collections, such as The Art Institute of Chicago, USA; The Daros Foundation, Zurich, Sweden; La Maison European de la Photographie, Paris, France; The Houston Museum of Fine Arts, USA; Fondation pour l’Art Contermporain, Paris, France; Fondazione Volume!, Rome, Italy; Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia; The Fogg Museum in Harvard University, Boston, USA; The Minneapolis Institute of Art, USA; Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Japan.
He received the Gran Premio PhotoEspaña “Baume et Mercer” in 1999 and collaborated in the staging of the opera production “The Death and the Maiden” in the Malmö Opera in Sweden in the year 2008.
He has four published monographs of his work including “Poems of Sorrow” (Arena Editions, New Mexico, USA), and “The Silence of the Gaze” (Peliti Associati, Roma, Italy) and «Luis González Palma», Ediciones La Fábrica, España, “Tu/Mi placer” in collaboration with Graciela De Oliveira, Editorial Documenta/Escénicas, Córdoba, Argentina.
MUESTRAS INDIVIDUALES
2019
“Constelaciones de lo intangible”. Bienal de fotografía de Córdoba, Córdoba, España
2018
«Chase Wing, Chase Ramp». Palm Springs Art Museum, California, USA.
“Constelaciones de lo Intangible”. Centro Cultural Caja Granada, Spain.
2017
“Sala Municipal de exposiciones de la San Benito”. Ayuntamiento de Valladolid, Spain.
2016
“Constelaciones de lo intangible”. Museo Universidad de Navarra, Spain.
“Constelaciones de lo intangible”. Centro Andaluz de Fotografía, Spain.
2015
“Jerarquías de intimidad- Möbius”. Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Jerarquías de la Intimidad, La Anunciación”. ChobiMela,InternationalFestival ofPhotography, Bangladesh.
“Constelaciones de lo intangible”. PhotoEspaña 2015, Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, Spain.
“Constelaciones de lo intangible”. Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
2014
“Möbius”, Encuentros Abiertos Festival de la Luz, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2013
FOTOGRAMA:13. Montevideo, Uruguay.
“Tu/Mi Placer” Junto a Graciela De Oliveira. SescConsolação, San Pablo, Brazil.
“Tu/Mi Placer” Junto a Graciela De Oliveira. Casa de las Américas, Photo España. Madrid, Spain.
“Un lugar sin reposo” AMA ׀ Art Museum of theAmericas, Washington DC, USA.
2012
Mes de la fotografía de Bariloche, XVI Edición, Bariloche, Argentina.
2011
Foto Art Festival. Bielsko-Biala, Poland.
“In-vestiduras” Segundo encuentro internacional de procesos fotográficos alternativos. Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.
Festival “FotoRio”. Instituto Cervantes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museo MARTE. El Salvador, El Salvador.
Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Instituto Cervantes de Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2009
«Tu/mi placer” (junto a Graciela De Oliveira). New York Photo Festival. New York, USA.
Art Institute of Boston. Boston, USA.
Tweed Museum of Art. Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
III Encuentro Internacional de Fotografía (junto a Graciela De Oliveira). Foto Museo. Bogotá, Colombia.
2008
«Jerarquías de Intimidad, La separación» (junto a Graciela De Oliveira). Museos MACRO y Castagnino. Rosario, Argentina.
«La Anunciación» (junto a Graciela De Oliveira). Basílica de Santa María Vallicella. Rome, Italy.
ShelldonMuseum of Art, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Centro Cultural de España, El Salvador. San Salvador.
2007
LannanFoundation, Santa Fe, New México, USA.
2006
Centro Cultural Chacao, Caracas, Venezuela.
Centro Cultural España Córdoba, Argentina.
«Jerarquías de Intimidad, La anunciación», junto a Graciela De Oliveira. FondazioneVolume!, Rome, Italy.
2005
Instituto Italo Latinoamericano. Rome, Italy.
2004
«Luis Gonzalez Palma (Antológica)». I Bienal de Fotografía, Museo Santa Giulia, Brescia, Italy.
Encuentro Colombiano de Fotografía, Universidad EAFIT. Medellín, Colombia.
Museo de Artes Visuales, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
2002
«The Silence of The Gaze». The Australian Center of Photography, Sidney, Australia.
Colorado Springs Museum, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
2000
«Luis González Palma». Palazzo Ducale, Genova, Italy.
«El aura sombría». Mes de la fotografía de Mérida, Mérida, México.
«El Aura Sombría». Pinacoteca Diego Rivera, Veracruz, México.
«Poetry and passion: Recent work by Luis González Palma». The University of North Texas Art Gallery, Denton, Texas, USA.
«Las Raíces del Paraíso». Fototeca de Pachuca, México.
Memphis Collage of Art. Memphis, Tennesse. USA.
Gallery of the University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA.
1999
«Las Raíces del Paraíso». Photo España, Centro Cultural De La Villa, Madrid, Spain.
“Luis González Palma. Silence of the gaze” The galleries of Texas Tech. Lubbock, Texas, USA.
Museo Ken Damy. Brescia, Italy.
Festival de invierno, OuroPreto, Brazil.
El ojo ajeno, Lima, Perú.
1998
Bienal de La Habana. Centro Wifredo Lam, La Habana, Cuba.
1997
«The Silence of a Look».Mes de la Fotografía, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
«Luis González Palma. Photographic Works.». MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachussets, USA.
«Luis González Palma». Centro de Artes Visuales, Museo del barro, Asunción. Paraguay.
“Ausencias. Instalaciones y fotografías de Luis González Palma” Casa de las Américas. La Habana, Cuba.
“La visión del mundo. Luis González Palma” Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica.
1996
«Historias Paralelas». Palacio de Bellas Artes, México DF, México.
«Historias Paralelas». Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín, Colombia.
«Historias Paralelas». Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia.
«Acariciando La Muerte». V Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador.
«Luis González Palma” Traveling Show in PolandBiuro-Wystaw-Artystycznych, JeleniaGora, OsrodekKultury, Wroclaw / LodzkiDomKultury, Lodz / CentrumKultury, Katowice. Poland.
1995
«Luis González Palma, New Work». The Photographers Gallery, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
«Pensamiento».Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
«Historias Paralelas». Mes de la Fotografía, Quito, Ecuador.
«Tarazona Foto». Festival Internacional de fotografía, Spain.
1994
«The Silence of a Look» Royal Festival Hall, Londres , UK.
«Ángeles Mestizos» Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela.
«25th Rencontres de la Photographie». Arles, France.
«Month of Photography».Bratislava, Eslovaquia.
«Luis González Palma». Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Meadows Museum of Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela.
1993
«FotoFeis, International Festival of Photography». Scotland, UK.
«Mythesetemerveilles».Musée de la Photographie de Charleroi, Belgium.
«Luis González Palma». The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
1992
«Persistence of Beauty, Persistence of Pain». The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
«V Fotobienal de Vigo». Vigo, Spain.
«Nupcias de Soledad». Fotofest, International Month of Photography, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
1991
«La Fidelidad Del Dolor». Galería de Arte contemporáneo, México D.F. México.
1990
«El Sueño Tiene Los Ojos Abiertos». Foto-Galería San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1989
«Autoconfesion».Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York. USA.
MUESTRAS COLECTIVAS
2020
«Raiding the Icebox». RISD Museum, Providence Rhode Island, USA.
2019
“BeyondTruth: Photographyafter the Shutter”. Cleveland Museum of Art. Ohio,USA.
“Latin American Photographic exhibition” Art Gallery of the National Cheng Kung University. Tainan, Taiwan.
“Con la Luz de América Latina”. FOLA (Fototeca Latinoamericana), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2018
“A History of Photography Remix: Selectionsfrom the Mia Collection”,Harrison Photography Gallery and Perlman Gallery. Minnesota, USA.
“Of Individuals and Places, Photographs from the Lazare Collection” The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec, Canada.
“Taipei Int’l Photo Fest 2018”.Zhongzheng Art Gallery, Taipei, China.
“En tránsito”, Fotografías de la Colección del Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Palacio Dionisi, Córdoba, Argentina.
“Constelaciones DC”. Palacio Dionisi, Córdoba, Argentina.
“Trevisancollection”. Museo di Santa Giulia, Brescia, Italiy.
2017
“Latin America in Photographs”.The New York Public Library, New York,USA.
2016
“El Tormento y el Éxtasis”. EsBaluard, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art,Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
“Fotómetro”.Museo De La Ciudad, Quito,Ecuador.
“Imágenes Para Ver-Te”.Museo de la Ciudad de México, Mexico.
“TravelPhoto Jaipur”. HawaMahal, Jaipur, India.
“Ourselves Through the Lens: Photography from the Ramer Collection”. Crocker Art Museum,Sacramento, USA.
2015
“Aquí nos vemos, fotografía en América Latina 2000-2015”. Centro Cultural Kirchner, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“FromthePlatinumPrintCollection: GlitteringThroughEternity”,KiyosatoMuseum of Photographic Arts.Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.
“Hidden Histories”, Phoenix Art Museum.Arizona, USA.
“Dali International PhotographyExhibition”. Dali, China.
“Dong Gang International Photo Festival”.Dong Gang, Korea.
“Heads Up!” RISD Museum. Providence, USA.
2014
“Daegu Photo Biennale”, Daegu, South Korea.
2013
“Möbius” XVI Festival del Centro Histórico, GaleríaCentro Municipal de Arte y Cultura, Guatemala.
“Fotosíntesis” Fototropía, La Fototeca, Guatemala, Guatemala.
“Disembodied: Portrait Miniatures and their Contemporary Relatives” The Cleveland Museum of Arts. Cleveland, USA.
“Myth and Materiality: Latin American Art from the Permanent Collection, 1930-1990 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art”. Santa Barbara, California, USA.
2012
“En la curvatura del tiempo: Arte y Mujer” Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología de Guatemala. Guatemala.
“The 8th Angkor Photo Festival Program of Slideshows” Siem Reap, Cambodia
“Atuendo, exhibicióncolectiva ”Festival ESFOTO 12, Museo de Arte El Salvador. El Salvador.
“Latin America between identity and mask ” South America Pavillion. Art Stay, 10th Festival of Contemporary Art, Ptuj, Slovenia.
“Arte en la sociedad: El poder de la cultura”, IDB Cultural Center collection, Washington DC, USA.
“Convivencia” Bienla de Arte Paiz. Guatemala.
“The games inspiring games” Lens on Twelve. London, Great Britain.
Jan Mulder collection.LesRencontres Arles Photographie, Arles, France.
“With the mind, eye and heart.Photography in the Trevisan
Collection” Mart, Museo de arte modernoy contemporaneo de Trento y Rovereto. Trento, Italy.
«Photography and Identity. A look to Latinamerica and «.
KoreaFundation. Seul, Corea.
“Esa vara. Modernidad y emplazamiento” Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo. San José, Costa Rica.
Dulles Gateway Gallery.IDB Cultural Center collection, Washington DC, USA.
2011
“New Visions: A Selection of the Latest Acquisitions from the IDB Art Collection, 2008–2011”IDB Cultural Center of the Inter-American Development Bank.Washington DC, USA
“Tu/Mi Placer (junto con Graciela De Oliveira) y Ara Solis, aquí estoy frente a mi” XI Bienal de Cuenca. Cuenca, Ecuador.
“NAFOTO 20 años” Caixa Cultural Sao Paulo, Brazil
“Proxecto Costa Da Morte” Museodel Mar de Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
“Proxecto Costa Da Morte” FactoríaCompostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
2010
“La mirada, Photographs and videos from the DarosLatinamerica Collection” Museum der ModerneRupertinum, Salzburg, Austria.
The Collector’s Eye»: Peers. Foto Fest 2010, Thirteenth International Biennial.Houston, Textas, USA
“Fragments Latino – Américains” Colección de la MaisonEuropéenne de la photographie. La Maison de l’Amériquelatine, Paris, France.
«Platinum Prints from our Collection: Vestiges of the Light». Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan
¡Afuera! Arte en espacios públicos, Centro Cultural España Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
“Ejercicios nidales” Junto a Graciela De Oliveira, Bienal Paiz, Casa Ibargüen, Guatemala.
“The sixth Borough”. No longer empty, Governors Island, New York, USA
“Foro Costa da Morte”. Faro de Finisterre, Finisterre; Museo del Mar, Vigo; y Factoría Compostela, Santiago de Compostela.Galicia, Spain
“Utrópicos Centro América y Caribe”. XXXI Bienal de Pontevedra, Spain
“ARS ITINERIS. El viaje en el arte contemporáneo”. Museu de l’Art de la Pell de Vic,Barcelona, Spain.
«Changing the Focus: Latin American Photography (1990-2005) «.MOLAA, Museum of Latin American Art.Long Beach, California, USA.
2009
«Las Américas Latinas, las fatigas del querer». SpazioOberdan, Milán, Italy.
«Paysage transforme». Iglesia de Sain Casimir de Port Neuf, Canada.
«Elogiodellabellezza». Spazio per l´ arte, Brescia, Italy.
«Paysage transforme», Mouvemout Art Public, MAP, Montreal, Canada.
2008
«TEN». Santa Barbara Museum of Art, USA.
«Jerarquías de Intimidad, la separación», junto a Graciela De Oliveira. Museo Genaro Pérez, Córdoba, Argentina.
«Persona, sueño y realidad». Hospital de San Juan de Dios, Espacio de arte contemporáneo, Almagro, Spain.
«Madrid Mirada», Circulo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain. Itinerancia en: Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo de San José, Costa Rica / Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá / Biblioteca de México, organizada por el Museo Universitario del Chopo (UAM) / Museo de Artes Visuales de Santiago, Chile / Parque de España de Rosario, Argentina / Museo Nacional de Arte de La Paz, Bolivia / Museo de Arte Moderno de Cuenca, organizada por la Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador / Museo de Arte San Marcos de Lima, Perú / Centro de Arte Contemporânea y Fotografía- FundaçaoClóvis Salgado, con la colaboración del Instituto Cervantes de Belo horizonte, Brasil / Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia de Maracaibo, Venezuela / Biblioteca Virgilio Barco de Bogotá, Colombia y Fototeca de Cuba.
«Presumed Innocence». The Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA.
«Experiencias 2». Museo de Bellas Artes de Santander, Spain.
«Los desaparecidos» muestra itinerante: Centro Cultural Matucana 100, Santiago de Chile, Chile / Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española en La Antigua Guatemala / Museo de arte moderno, (TheMuseum of Modern Art), Bogotá, Colombia / Museo de las Américas (Museum of the Ameritas), Office of American States, Washington, DC. USA
Singapur Festival of Photography.Singapur.
2007
«25 th.Aniversary of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary art». Scottsdale, UK.
«Momentos estelares. La fotografía del siglo XX». Canal de Isabel II, Madrid, Spain.
«Cuerpos Políticos». Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
«El Retrato». Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
«Los desaparecidos». Museo del Barrio, New York. USA / MuseumBochum, Germany / viajando a Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Esteeming the pearls, The Light Factory Photographic Arts Center, Charlote, NC, USA.
Puntos de vista, Zeitgenössischekunstaus der Daros-LatinamericaCollection, MuseumBochum, Bochum, Germany.
2005
«La Trama e l’ordito». 51 Bienal de Venecia, Pabellón Instituto Italo-Latinoamericano, Venecia, Italy.
«La Mirada». Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia
«El Puente de la Visión». Museo de Santander, Spain.
“Paradox & coexistence II, Art fo Latin America 1981-2000”. IDB Cultural Center Art Gallery, New York, USA.
Mai Photographies Quimper, Quimper, ProgrammationAktinos, France.
Arte 2005: Latin American Photography, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, USA.
“Los desaparecidos” North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, USA.
“Mapas Abiertos, fotografía latinomaericana (1991-2002) Centro de Fotografía, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, España.
2004
«Documenting Poetry».Virginia Museum of Art, Virginia, USA.
“Mix-ed” Sherman Galleries, Sidney, Australia.
ColeÇao Fotográfica don Concello de Vigo, Centro Portugués de fotografía, Porto, Portugal.
About Face: Photographic portraits from the collection, The Art Institut, Chicago, USA.
La dura Belleza, Instituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Roma, Italy.
Icons Arte fino, Photo, Zürich, Switzerland.
Corpus Chisti.Christus-DarstellungenausdreiJahrhundertenPhotographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany.
2003
«Mapas Abiertos». Sala Telefónica, Madrid, Spain.
«Mapas Abiertos». Palau de la Virreina , Barcelona, Spain.
«Todo Incluido». Palacio del Conde Duque, Madrid, Spain.
«La Mirada». Daros Fundation, Zürich, Switzerland.
2002
«Mois de la Photo a Paris», Cite des Arts, Paris, France.
«Images de Jesús». PatrimoinePhotographique, Hotel de Sully, Paris, France.
III Encuentro Iberoamericano de Fotografía Kent, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela.
La fotografía contemporánea latinoamericana da New York a Santiago de Chile. Primo Festival Internazionale di Roma. Instituto Italo-Latinoamericano, Roma, Italy.
“Mundos creados” Latijns-AmerikaanseFotografie, Noorderlicht, Netherlands
2001
“Platea de la Humanidad” Aperto 49. Biennale di Venecia. Venecia, Italy.
Políticas da diferenta / Políticas de la diferencia. Centro de convenÇoes de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. Viajando a: MALBA – Colección Constantini, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
«Alternative Processes Exhibit».The Art institute of Boston, Boston, Massachussets. USA.
2000
«Latin American Photographs, new viewpoints».The University of Texas at San Antonio Visual Arts Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
1999
«Contemporary Art from Guatemala El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica» Museum of Fine Art, Taipei, Taiwan.
XXXI Festival de inverno da UFMG. OuroPreto, Brazil
«I Bienal Internacional de fotografía». Centro de la Imagen, México D.F, México, viajando a Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas. Venezuela
Tracing Times, Photogravures by Eight Latin American Photographers.Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA.
The Meadows Museum, Dallas, Texas. USA
Ther Rockford Museum, Rockford, Illinois. USA
Joliet Center for the Arts, Illinois, USA.
10 Años de Centro Cultural UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Lisieres Latino Americaines, Strasbourg, France.
La Cita, Painting and Sculpture of Latinamerica, Biarritz, France.
Mainsite Contemporary Art, Oklahoma, USA.
Arts and Humanities Council, Lake Charles, Los Angeles, USA.
1998
1,254KM». Sol del Río en el Centro Wifredo Lam, La Habana, Cuba.
«LumoTriennaali». Jyväskylän Art Museum, Jyväskylän, Finland.
“La visión del Mundo”. Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, Costa Rica.
1997
«VI Bienal de la Habana». La Habana, Cuba.
«Festivales de Arte de Lima». Lima, Perú.
«Así Esta la Cosa: Instalación y Arte Objeto de América Latina». Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporáneo, México.
Festival Internacional de Arte de Medellín. Medellín, Colombia.
«New Realities, Hand colored Photographs- 1839 to the present». Wyoming Art Museum, USA.
«Arqueología del Silencio». Museo de Arte Moderno, Guatemala, Guatemala.
«Real maravilloso». Piazza deiMacelli, Prato, Italy.
Fondo Nacional para el Arte Contemporáneo, Río de Janeiro, Brazil.
III Mes internacional da Fotografía. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1996
23 Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
V Bienal de Cuenca, Cuenca. Ecuador
«Pushing Image Paradigms: Conceptual ManeuversIn Recent Photography».Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon, USA.
«Arqueología Del Silencio». Museo Del Chopo, México DF, México, viajando al Museo de Arte Moderno de Guatemala, Guatemala.
«Immobile». Museo de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, México.
«Relaciones». Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica.
«Image and Memory». Museo del Barrio, New York, USA.
«Figuratively Speaking: 20th Century Paintings, Sculptures, and works on paper», Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara. California. USA.
«Mesotica II». Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica.
1995
«Traces: The Body in Contemporary Photography». The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York ,USA .
«Arte Contemporáneo Latinoamericano». Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany.
«Cruzando Caminos: 6 Fotógrafos Latinoamericanos». Museo de Arte de Lima, Perú.
«Image and Memory: Latin American Photography, 1880-1992». Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, USA.
«Meta-Physics», De Pree Art Center, Hope College, Holland, MI, USA.
“Image & Memory” Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida,USA.
3 Angular. Convento capuchinas, Antigua Guatemala, viajando al Ex Convento de la Merced, México DF, México; y a Fargfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden.
“Image&Memory”. Museo de Arte Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
“Quest of the Moon”.Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA.
“Image & Memory” Art Gallery of the University of Scranton, Scranton, PA, USA.
“Tierrra de Tempestades. Nuevo arte de Guatemala, El Salvador y Nicaragua”. Arts Council of Northern Irelan, Belfast, UK.Viajando a Sunderland Library and Arts Centre, Sunderland, UK / Bringhton Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton, UK / Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, UK.
1994
V Bienal de la Habana. La Habana, Cuba.
«Arte ContemporáneoLatinoamericano». Ludwig Forum fürInternationaleKunst, Aachen, Germany .
«Image & Memory: Latin American Photography, 1880-1992» Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio, USA.Traveled to Meadows Museum of Art, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA.
«Le Courage». Chateaux beychevelle, Bordeaux, France.
25iémesRencontresInternationales de la Photographie. Arles, France.
Month of Photographie.Bratislava, Slovakia.
“Tierrra de Tempestades. Nuevo arte de Guatemala, El Salvador y Nicaragua”. Harris Museum, Preston, UK.Viajando a Leicester City Gallery, Leicester.
1993
«A song to Reality» (Canto a la Realidad).Photography of Latin America 1860 – 1993, Casa de América, Madrid, Spain.
Fotofeis, Internacional Festival of Photography Stirling, Scotland. UK.
Encuentro Latinoamericano de fotografía, Caracas, Venezuela
1992
Fotofest Houston, Texas, USA.
V Fotobienal de Vigo, Spain.
«Salón Latinoamericano del Desnudo». Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1991
«RencontresInternationales de la Photographie». Arles, France.
Fotografía Contemporánea de Latinomérica, Museo de Huelva, Spain.
1990
«Luis González Palma». Cents Ans de Photografieau Guatemala, Maison de L´Amerique Latine. Paris, France.
1989
«Refiguration» (Refigura): Guatemalan Contemporary Visual Arts. Gallery of Contemporary Art, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
«Presencia Imaginaria». Museo de Arte Moderno, México DF, México.
«Presencia Imaginaria». Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The Annunciation Reconceived
A profound visual meditation on our failure fully to connect with one another, in which distance becomes manifest in nearness and absence in presence, Luis Gonzalez Palma’s “Hierarchies of Intimacy” marks a continuation of his extended reflections on the varieties of sadness.
One of the most important and esteemed postmodern photo-artists, Gonzalez Palma has always combined his deeply personal struggles with cultural agonies in mythical works that use straight photography as a base that he infuses with enhanced meaning through paint, tint, collaged elements and now – for the first time – color film and digital alteration. The scenario of theatrical portrait has been his favored genre for expressing complex emotions and melding them with public and private symbolism.
Gonzalez Palma’s eleven-image series is part of his larger “Annunciation Project,” which reflects – in thoroughly contemporary form – on the Angel Gabriel’s revelation to the Virgin Mary that she would birth Jesus Christ.
Aesthetically and emotionally sensitive, and conceptually rigorous, Gonzalez Palma unfailingly embeds his ideas in his works so that their meanings body forth visually without the need for protracted verbal explanations. We must, then, begin with the biblical story of the Annunciation in order to understand the artist’s transformation of it for our own times.
The story of the Annunciation is told in the book of Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38. The narrative reports that when Gabriel greets Mary, she is “deeply disturbed,” being in doubt about the reason for the visitation. Gabriel reassures Mary that she has “found favor with God” and then tells her that she will conceive Jesus, who “will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever and there will be no end of his kingdom.” Mary wonders how she can bear a child when she is a virgin, to which Gabriel responds that everything is possible for God. Mary acquiesces and says, “ ‘May it become of me according to your word.’ “
In Christian theology, the Annunciation heralds the good news of the virgin birth, yet if we stop there, we will pass over its meaning for Mary, which is what concerns Gonzalez Palma. In Luke’s story, there is nothing extraordinary about Mary – she is a normal woman who is “deeply disturbed” by the visitation, skeptical about the revelation and – most importantly – simply acquiescent and obedient when the encounter concludes; there is a vehicle for God’s work of salvation. Indeed, we are left in doubt about Mary’s feelings, providing Gonzalez Palma with his opening to fill out the story with psychological content.
For Gonzalez Palma, the Annunciation is not primarily one of the events in the Jesus narrative; it is Mary’s story, which he retells not by shadowing the biblical account, but by offering “variations” of it. Those reflections are placed in sequential order, but they do not pretend to constitute a coherent narrative; they are emotionally suggestive and – as a whole – create a sensibility that questions the biblical story. In the account in Luke and in the depictions of the event in the tradition of Western painting upon which Gonzalez Palma has drawn, there is a fullness of presence; in Gonzalez Palma’ scenarios, there is a deep play between presence and absence, with a dominating and unresolved sense of disconnection and loss that has not become final, yet does not betray hope for reconciliation.
The image in Gonzalez Palma’s series that most closely approaches traditional depictions of the Annunciation is Variation 2, in which a woman with a pained and drawn expression stands facing the camera in the shadows at the foot of a staircase near a corner that opens out into a dingy corridor lit by a glowing chandelier. Behind her stands a man in a black suit with his hands behind his back who is so deeply shadowed that his features are indiscernible and his presence ghostly. A disembodied hand rests on the woman’s shoulder – the finishing touch on a scene with gothic resonance.
In traditional representations of the Annunciation, Gabriel and Mary are fully in the light, and the angel either faces the virgin or stands at her side, often extending on of his arms towards her. In Gonzalez Palma’s version, darkness replaces light, presence is effaced and the empty illuminated corridor leads to a blank wall with the hint that there is another corner to turn. Most importantly, the hand that rests on the woman’s shoulder does not belong to the man behind her, who has withdrawn his arms; there is no sense of foreboding here, rather, there is a palpable disconnection. The dark-haired woman dominates the scene and although there are other presences, they are privative and she is even more isolated in her apparent sorrow that when would be were she alone.
Gonzalez Palma’s Annunciation image is bathed in mystery and enigma, provoking questions rather than providing answers. Is the woman receiving a revelation? If so, what is the news? She does not seem to be frightened, but what disturbs her so deeply? What lies beyond the far corner of the illuminated passageway? Why is the scene so unremittingly dreary? What does the spectral man standing behind the woman mean to her and why does he fail to try to give her solace? Is he powerless or does he refuse to intervene? We cannot believe that we are witnesses to a blessed event filled with promise; whatever the answers to our questions might be – if, indeed, there are answers – Gonzalez Palma’s postmodern Mary is more a victim than someone who has “found favor with God.”
Variation 2 stands for Gonzalez Palma’s visual reflection on the “Hierarchies of Intimacy.” None of the other ten images records successful connection and all of them are suffused with the same sense of somber mystery, sometimes appearing to tend toward a closer bond and sometimes seeming to foreclose that possibility.
Throughout his trajectory as an artist, Gonzalez Palma has meditated on the varieties of sadness, producing incisive and profound works that reveal to us our personal discontents in relation to their cultural expressions, setting up a vital reciprocity between private and public. His Annunciation Project is one of the most challenging and complex of his ventures into the painful currents of experience and – as always – invites us to sharpen the sense of our perplexities.
-Michael Weinstein