Foto Colectania: Ramon Masats and photography in the digital age

In 2025, Foto Colectania invites you to discover two sides of photography: on the one hand, the gaze that captures the past of a country in full transition after the post-war period; on the other, the anxiety of a present shaped by digital technologies in a hyperconnected world.

The critical and humane gaze of Ramón Masats

The great challenge of this season is, without a doubt, the retrospective dedicated to Ramón Masats (1931, Barcelona – 2024, Madrid) , one of the most prominent names in Spanish photography. This exhibition, entitled 'Ramón Masats, the silent photographer', offers a journey through the work of an author who portrayed everyday gestures in visual stories full of irony and critical sense. Masats, recognized as one of the most influential photographers of the sixties, used his camera to dismantle clichés and explore the reality of a Spain marked by dictatorship and the post-war period.

With 140 images, many of them never seen before, this exhibition offers an in-depth look at his work. The photographs have been selected and reviewed by the author at different times in his life, including shortly before his death in 2024, making the exhibition a faithful testimony to his career. This careful selection has been possible thanks to the support of Sonia Masats, the photographer's daughter, who has facilitated access to the negatives and original copies preserved in her personal archive.

The tour begins with his first images, taken between 1953 and 1965, a period in which Masats was still exploring the path to follow between abstract photography and documentary reportage, until finally opting for the latter. At this stage, you can see the original vintage copies of some of his first series, such as the 15 vintages of Les Rambles, which reflect the vitality and character of Barcelona in those years. These images, little known to the general public, show a photographer in the process of defining his style, searching for a language of his own that would end up marking an entire generation.

Carmen Amaya, Madrid, 1961. © Ramón Masats / VEGAP

Among the most outstanding pieces are also the materials from Neutral Corner and Sanfermines, his first photobook. In addition, it includes portraits for magazines such as Gaceta Ilustrada, as well as images taken in places such as Arcos de la Frontera, where Masats captured the essence of the landscape and the daily life of the people.

Beyond its documentary value, Masats' work stands as a living chronicle of a Spain in the midst of dictatorship. His photographs, far from falling into stereotypes, show a sensitivity towards the lives of ordinary people. With his precise and empathetic gaze, Masats managed to respectfully capture human strength and the social context. The exhibition will be open to the public from January 16 to May 25 and represents an opportunity to reconnect with the work of an author who, despite documenting a specific era, maintains a legacy that continues to challenge us.

The art of navigation: photography in the digital age

After Masats, Foto Colectania's programming looks to the future with the exhibition 'The art of navigation. How to get lost in a world of images', which will open to the public from June 11 to November 2025. This exhibition explores how photography has evolved in the digital age, becoming a tool capable of redefining our perception of the world.

Curated by Jon Uriarte , the exhibition brings together works by international artists such as Sara Bezovšek, James Bridle, Alan Butler, Joséfa Ntjam, Giath Taha, Kyriaki Goni and Roc Herms , who reflect on the impact of technologies on our daily lives. Through images that embrace scenarios as diverse as video games, online maps and space exploration, the exhibition highlights how images have gone from being simple representations to becoming interactive interfaces that guide, confuse and transform our experience of the world.

© Roc Herms