IVAM opens 'La Albufera' exhibition blending Sorolla and Doré with contemporary art to mark park's 40th anniversary
The Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) opens 'La Albufera' today, an exhibition spanning nearly two centuries of artistic depictions of the iconic Valencian wetland, from 19th-century romanticism to contemporary environmental concerns.
A visual journey through time
The exhibition, running from 8 July to 18 October 2026 at the Centre Julio González, brings together more than 200 pieces including photographs, paintings, documents, video creations, installations and archival materials. It traces the evolution of L'Albufera from the romantic fascination of the 19th century, captured in engravings by Gustave Doré and paintings by Joaquín Sorolla, through to present-day anxieties about the ecosocial crisis.
L'Albufera is a landscape that forms part of the collective memory of generations of Valencians; a space where nature, agriculture, fishing, traditions and culture have coexisted for centuries.
Reviving a 1985 photography project
The starting point is a little-known episode in IVAM's own history. In 1985, a year before the wetland received official protection, the museum commissioned 12 national and international photographers to document the site in a project called 'L'Albufera. Visió tangencial'. Those images, which have not been exhibited since, now regain prominence and enter into dialogue with new artistic proposals.
It is a historic commission in which twelve prominent national and international photographers portrayed the natural site just before it was declared a natural park.
Contemporary artists revisit the landscape
Four decades later, IVAM invited six contemporary artists to retrace that same territory, expanding the artistic languages. Bleda y Rosa worked on the physical, historical and symbolic boundaries of the wetland; Paula García-Masedo investigated the material and productive processes that have shaped the landscape; Teresa Marín produced a video installation on water flows; and Jorge Ribalta, Lucía Loren and Jorge Yeregui contributed further works in photography, sculpture and installation.
Environmental reflection on a protected space
The show coincides with the 40th anniversary of L'Albufera's declaration as a natural park on 8 July 1986. Curator Sandra Moros has structured the exhibition to reveal the multiple layers of economic and environmental circumstances that have configured this Mediterranean jewel, inviting reflection on possible futures for the territory.
- IVAM commissions 12 photographers for 'L'Albufera. Visió tangencial' before the museum's official opening.
- L'Albufera is declared a natural park.
- Exhibition 'La Albufera' opens at IVAM, combining historical works with new contemporary commissions.
