Exposiciones temporales
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION: ARS LONGA by Francisco José Sánchez Montalbán
- 16/05/2025 - 20/10/2025
- 20.967 Views
In ARS LONGA, Francisco José Sánchez Montalbán (Cartagena, 1964) presents a photographic exploration where the images evoke the sound of music in a heritage setting; the moving hand of the pianist, the light on the keyboard, or the concentrated gaze of the violinist bring us closer to the visual experience of the harmony of music.
The artist has produced an excellent work with black and white photographs in which he focuses his attention on the fusion of music and architecture, masterfully utilizing an elegant range of deep blacks, infinite and diverse grays, and pure whites, playing with light and shadow, where each glimmer of light contributes to the narrative of the image.
In the composition, the symmetry of the architecture, the piano keyboard, and the arrangement of elements in the frames; the reflections of the arches on the piano, the hands, or the light on the vine leaves generate poetic, evocative, timeless, and emotional works where the absence of color allows the viewer to immerse themselves in the essence of the captured moment.
For the artist, light is fundamental as an essential element in the construction of his photographic work. In this sense, Monti plays with light on everyday objects, whether sheet music, keyboards, or the metronome marking the musical pulse, generating works of great harmony, focusing attention on details that might go unnoticed but resist normal viewing.
Rafael Peralbo Cano, curator of the exhibition, says that the photographs in this show all have in common the transgression of the unexpected; they are based on Marcel Proust's ideas about how the fascination with discovery lies not in seeking out new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes. This conception aligns with the notion of estrangement in photography, a practice that invites the viewer to transcend the banality of the everyday and rediscover the world from a renewed perspective.
In this way, the artist invites the viewer to transcend the everyday and rediscover the world from an inner perspective, to look with new eyes to reach the essence of the narrative where each image tells a micro-story.
Stories about music and architectural heritage capture specific moments—José Carlos Martínez supervising a dance rehearsal or Carlos Piñana concentrating on his guitar; other times, fleeting, a ray of light on a vine leaf or a score—but all of this evokes both the real and the subjective aspects introduced by the artist.
Francisco José Sánchez Montalbán, artist, photographer, anthropologist, and Fine Arts professor at the University of Granada, has chosen to showcase one of his greatest passions at Ars Longa, a project he has devoted many years to directing the Photography Workshop at the Granada International Music and Dance Festival. An artist with a vocation for teaching and research, he unveils the essence of music in this exhibition project, using a contemporary language accompanied by his own life experiences.
An exhibition that opens at the Roman Theatre Museum in Cartagena, in a room where the very presence of Roman architecture bathed in natural light gives the exhibition a unique character and creates a play of contrasts that invites you to feel the beat of music and the ancient stones.
About the artist
Francisco José Sánchez Montalbán. Cartagena, 1964. Artist, photographer, and professor at the University of Granada. He holds a degree in Fine Arts and Social and Cultural Anthropology and a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Granada.
Director of the Contemporary Art Collection at the University of Granada from 2008 to 2023. He directs the Photography Workshop at the Granada International Music and Dance Festival. He was awarded the Medal of Merit in Fine Arts by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Granada in 2010.
Solo and collective exhibitions at La Madraza, Granada (1996), CajaMurcia Foundation in Cartagena (2000), Niebla Foundation (Girona) at the Photographic Spring of Catalonia (2001), Museum of the University of Alicante (2004), Museum of the City of Madrid (2005), Center for Lorca Studies (Fuentevaqueros, 2007), CajaRural Foundation of Granada (2011), Molina Palace, Cartagena (2012), Caja Rural Foundation of Granada (2016), Cante de las Minas Foundation La Unión (Murcia) 2016, Andalusian Center of Flamenco (Jerez) 2017, Municipal Hall of Alhaurín el Grande (Málaga) 2018. Ricardo Molina Cultural Center (Puente Genil) 2019, Art Week Festival20 Poznan (Poland) 2020, PHOTOEspaña MECA Center (Almería) 2021 and 2024. Cristóbal Gabarrón Museum, Mula (Murcia) 2023. Museum of the Memory of Andalusia, Caja Granada Foundation (Granada) 2024. Hospital of San Juan de Dios, Jaén Provincial Council (Jaén) 2025.
Temporary Exhibition Hall of the Roman Theatre Museum of Cartagena
From May 16 to October 20, 2025
Roman Theatre Museum of Cartagena
Town Hall Square, 9
30201 Cartagena, Murcia (Spain)
Telephone: (+34) 968 504 802
Cartagena Roman Theatre Foundation:
Cartagena City Council,
Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia,
Caja Murcia Foundation
Iberdrola Foundation collaborates
