Renowned for her innovative images documenting Mexico City’s urban expansion and vibrant cultural scene, Kati Horna (Budapest, 1912 – Mexico City, 2000) was already a widely published photographer of the Spanish Civil War when she arrived in Mexico at the end of 1939. Her prolific career will be the focus of Told and Untold: The Photo Stories of Kati Horna in the Illustrated Press. This is the first solo show in the United States to examine Horna’s influential collaboration with the illustrated press. Featuring Horna’s photographs displayed alongside the newspapers and magazines that put them in circulation, the exhibition will comprise some never-before-seen materials including contact sheets, montage cuttings, and personal albums.
“This exhibition demonstrates that in order to grasp some of the subtleties and complexities of Horna’s mature work in Mexico it is crucial to consider the depth of her intellectual upbringing, the extent of her political radicalization as a young artist, and the true nature of her involvement with the anarchist fringe of the Spanish Civil War,” says curator Christina De León.
![6. Untitled [Shirtless Man and Peasant, Hungary], 1933](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/6-untitled-shirtless-man-and-peasant-hungary-1933.jpg?ssl=1)
Kati Horna, Untitled [Shirtless Man and Peasant, Hungary], 1933; gelatin silver print, 4 ¾ x 6 ¾ in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
![5a. [Militiamen in the outskirts of Banastás Aragon] recto and verso, 1937](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/5a-militiamen-in-the-outskirts-of-banastc3a1s-aragon-recto-and-verso-1937.jpg?ssl=1)
Kati Horna, Photo album [Militiamen in the outskirts of Banastás Aragon] recto and verso, 1937, 10 ¾ x 14 ½ in. (page); gelatin silver prints mounted on paper. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
![5b. [Militiamen in the outskirts of Banastás Aragon] recto and verso, 1937](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/5b-militiamen-in-the-outskirts-of-banastc3a1s-aragon-recto-and-verso-1937.jpg?ssl=1)
Kati Horna, Photo album [Militiamen in the outskirts of Banastás Aragon] recto and verso, 1937, 10 ¾ x 14 ½ in. (page); gelatin silver prints mounted on paper. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
![3. Mussolini_Dictador deportivo! [Mussolini_Sporting Dictator!], c. 1938](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/3-mussolini_dictador-deportivo-mussolini_sporting-dictator-c-1938.jpg?ssl=1)
Kati and José Horna, Mussolini: Dictador deportivo! [Mussolini: Sporting Dictator!], c. 1938; Gelatin silver print, 2.5 x 3 1/8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Installation view. Photograph by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.
Images by Kati Horna, “Bombed! Shelled! Besieged for two years – but Life goes on!”, The Weekly Illustrated, December 3, 1938 [author unknown]. Private collection, New York. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
![4. “Hospital del pueblo” [The People’s Hospital] published in Umbral 27, 1938](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/4-e2809chospital-del-puebloe2809d-the-people_s-hospital-published-in-umbral-27-1938.jpg?ssl=1)
Photographs and layout by Kati Horna, “Hospital del pueblo” [The People’s Hospital] published in Umbral 27, February 21, 1938. 24 x 18 ¾ in. (spread). CRAI Biblioteca Pavelló de la República, Universitat de Barcelona. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Installation view. Photograph by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.
Installation view. Photograph by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.
Kati and José Horna, Cuidado! En su Trabajo de Usted Dependen (Poster mock-up), c. 1944; mixed media, 6 ¾ x 9 7/8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Installation view. Photograph by Corrado Serra for Arts Summary.
Kati Horna, El iluminado [The Iluminated], 1944, 11 x 13 ¼ in., Gelatin silver print. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, Helen Escobedo, 1960; gelatin silver print, 8 x 8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
![9. From the series Una noche en el sanitorio de muñecas [One Night at the Dolls’ Hospital], 1962](https://i0.wp.com/artssummary.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/9-from-the-series-una-noche-en-el-sanitorio-de-muc3b1ecas-one-night-at-the-dolls_-hospital-1962.jpg?ssl=1)
Kati Horna, From the series Una noche en el sanitorio de muñecas [One Night at the Dolls’ Hospital], 1962; Gelatin silver print, 7 11/16 x 9 5/8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, “Oda a la necrofilia”, 1962, Gelatin silver print, 7 ½ x 8 in. Private collection, Mexico City © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, Fanny Rabel, 1964; gelatin silver print, 8 x 8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, From the series Historia de un Vampiro: Sucedió en Coyoacán en 1962 [Story of a Vampire: It Happened in Coyoacán in 1962], 1962; gelatin silver print 89/16 x 75/8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, Untitled [Ricardo Legorreta’s Datsun Mexicana Factory], 1966; gelatin silver print, 7 ¾ x 8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
Kati Horna, Untitled [Ricardo Legorreta’s Celanese Mexicana Building], 1968; gelatin silver print, 7 ¾ x 8 in. Private collection, Mexico City. © 2005 Ana María Norah Horna y Fernández. Courtesy Americas Society Art Gallery.
You must be logged in to post a comment.