There's something paradoxical about naming a photography exhibition What the Eyes Don't See, yet perhaps there couldn't be a more precise title for an exhibition like this, tracing the career of one of Spain's greatest photographers – Alberto García-Alix. As we navigate through his work, guided by the 50 photographs collected in the exhibition, we manage to touch both the material and the invisible, which is captured in the photographs – the spirit of time.

Here are some of his earliest shots from the late 70s and early 80s, as well as many newer photographs that emerge before our eyes like something dreamed, immaterial, impossible to capture on film.

The black-and-white aesthetic, to which García-Alix never strays, speaks of rebellion and fast living, to which we are condemned, but also of the tenderness and romance of the path we inevitably follow. And this path connects us with an invisible thread to all the others embarking on their journeys.

Alberto García-Alix was born in 1956 in León, Spain. At the age of 11, he moved to Madrid with his family, where he still lives today. His first attempts at photography date back to 1976, and his first exhibitions were in the 80s in Madrid and London. One of his most famous exhibitions was the retrospective display shown at the first edition of PhotoEspaña in 1998. A year later, he received the National Photography Award of Spain. He is also the recipient of the Golden Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture (2019).

He has had solo exhibitions in London, Beijing, Moscow, Paris, as well as in Latin America. His works are part of the collections of some of the world's largest museums and galleries, including the National Museum of Art Reina Sofía (Spain), Fonds Nationales d’Art Contemporain (France), and Deutsche Börse (Germany).

For years, García-Alix has combined photography with publishing activities. He is the creator of the cultural magazine El Canto de la Creación (1989–1997) and co-founder of the publishing house Cabeza de Chorlito.

He is also one of the leading figures in the cultural movement La Movida Madrileña (The Madrid Scene), with some of his photographs capturing exciting moments from the movement's early years, among whose members are the director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar, actresses Rossy de Palma and Emma Suárez, and flamenco legend Camarón de la Isla.

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The exhibition and the visit of Alberto García-Alix are made possible with the support of the Cervantes Institute.

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