The Espacio Fundación Telefónica is hosting the exhibition Robert Frank & The Americans until November, a retrospective revisiting the seminal work of the influential photographer Robert Frank. Curated by David Campany and organized with the support of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, the show provides a deep dive into the racial, social, and sexual diversity of the United States during the post-war era.

The black and white images capture everyday and often desolate scenes: interiors of barbershops, receptions, solitary figures in barren landscapes, counterculture activists, and conventional citizens. A streetcar in New Orleans with segregated seating for Black and white passengers stands as a powerful testament to the racial divisions of the time.

Robert Frank, born in Switzerland, moved to the United States in 1947 and initially worked as a fashion photographer. His masterpiece, The Americans, originated from a two-year journey across the country funded by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1955, during which he captured 28,000 shots with his Leica. The exhibition features the original selection of 83 photographs, along with negatives and additional material.

Frank's journey through the country's less cosmopolitan interiors was not without its challenges, sometimes leading to complicated situations. In New York, he befriended figures of the Beat Generation such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, later collaborating on the short film Pull My Daisy.

Frank's work challenged the official narrative of prosperity of the post-war 'American Dream'. His critical gaze, conveyed through tilted frames, blurs, and fragmented compositions, questioned racial inequalities and the consumerist veneer, offering a raw and expressive vision of the latter half of 20th-century America.