ROJO-TROZOS DE PASIÓN
ROJO-TROZOS DE PASIÓN
IVAILO STANEV
I
Juan Pedro Cano
I
29 nov - 31 dec 2019
RITUAL. RHYTHM. A FRAGMENTED FLAME.
TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS. TWO VISIONS. ONE SUBJECT — THE WORLD OF TAUROMAQUIA, SEEN FROM INSIDE.
"ROJO – TROZOS DE PASIÓN" BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORK OF JUAN PEDRO CANO AND IVAILO STANEV IN AN INTIMATE EXPLORATION OF CONTEMPORARY BULLFIGHTING.
A STUDY RATHER THAN A CELEBRATION.
A MATADOR SHOWN BEYOND THE ARENA, IN THE QUIET MOMENTS THAT SURROUND IT.
THROUGH BLACK-AND-WHITE AND COLOR FRAMES, THE SERIES MOVES BETWEEN PRESENCE AND ABSENCE, TRADITION AND REFLECTION — CAPTURING ATMOSPHERE AS MUCH AS ACTION.
THE EXHIBITION
THE EXHIBITION
THE ARTISTS
THE ARTISTS
JUAN PEDRO CANO
JUAN PEDRO CANO
A PHOTOGRAPHER FROM ARANDA DE DUERO, SPAIN, JUAN PEDRO CANO HAS SPENT YEARS DOCUMENTING THE WORLD OF TAUROMAQUIA FROM WITHIN.
AS COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR FOR MATADOR JESÚS DUQUE SINCE 2014, HE RECORDS BOTH THE SPECTACLE AND THE SILENT MOMENTS BEFORE AND AFTER — WITH DISCRETION, RESPECT, AND A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRADITION.
IVAILO STANEV
IVAILO STANEV
A VALENCIA-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER WITH OVER TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE AND A PORTFOLIO THAT INCLUDES COMMISSIONS FOR PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS.
DRAWN TO HUMAN PRESENCE, RHYTHM, AND EMOTION, HE DOCUMENTS LIFE WITH A QUIET INTENSITY — BRINGING A SINGULAR EYE TO THE RITUALS OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE.
A VISUAL ODE TO PRECISION, STRENGTH, AND HERITAGE — ROJO CAPTURES A WORLD WHERE EVERY GESTURE HOLDS MEANING, AND EVERY MOMENT CARRIES THE WEIGHT OF TRADITION.
THE WORKS
THE WORKS
/CURATED SELECTION
/CURATED SELECTION
Rojo — Trozos de Pasión is the outcome of a long-form photographic engagement by Ivailo Stanev, developed over more than eight years in collaboration with the Spanish matador Jesús Duque. The project follows the torero through the private spaces that frame his profession — the moments preceding the arena, the gestures of preparation, the intervals of stillness, and the quiet concentration that shapes each appearance. What began as a personal study gradually expanded into a sustained visual record of a tradition observed from close proximity.
The photographs presented here emerge from Stanev’s extended access to Duque’s world, offering a perspective seldom available to an external observer. Preparation, passage, confrontation, and aftermath appear with equal weight: the measured gestures before entering the arena, the narrow corridors where concentration settles, the charged atmosphere of the sand, and the presence of the crowd. No single element dominates; instead, the project follows the continuity of the practice as it unfolds across private and public space. Through this progression, Stanev maps the inner and outer terrain of the matador — a field shaped by discipline, lineage, and the quiet structure of a long-standing tradition.
Rojo — Trozos de Pasión was first shown in Valencia and later presented in adapted forms at international platforms such as Olympus Masters Europe in Prague (2018) and Photopia in Hamburg (2023). These iterations highlight the project’s resonance across different contexts, foregrounding its emphasis on the human presence within a culturally charged tradition. Although the Valencia exhibition included a contribution by Juan Pedro Cano, the conceptual focus and primary body of work remain anchored in Stanev’s long-term collaboration with Duque.
Curated by Monochrome Hub Gallery, the exhibition reflects a project shaped by duration, access, and a sustained observational clarity. Rojo — Trozos de Pasión stands as a visual study of a world understood through proximity — its rituals, its interior tensions, and the measured concentration through which its gestures take form.