Hotel Monte Rosa is a series of photographs of a hotel located in
downtown Madeira, Portugal, that was once owned and managed
by my grandfather.
The small four-story hotel operated for 50 years, accommodating
tourists that wanted to stay at the heart of the island. Hotel Monte
Rosa was a place full of life, with people roaming the hallways and
sleeping in temporary beds.
Unfortunately, in 2008 the hotel had to close down as the
economy collapsed and it became harder to compete with large
hotel chains constructing modern buildings. Moreover, my
grandfather´s health started to deteriorate and he had to move
back to Venezuela, where the rest of his family resides.
These photographs resonate with the silence of lonely, void
spaces, consumed by the passage of time. The soul of this place
departed with its last occupants and its owner, who had lived in
the hotel and dedicated his life to its success. Its abandonment is
evident in the deterioration of the empty interior spaces. The
rooms are now occupied only by the trace of human presence.
Liquor bottles remain half full at the hotel bar and telephones
remain on each night table as if waiting for a call that will never
come.
Hotel Monte Rosa is a reminder of the impact of globalization,
which can lead to the decay of traditional small businesses. But
above all, it is a refuge to memories. It represents the end of a
chapter in my family history, marked by the loss of its patriarch
and the detachment of its heirs.
Awards SELECTED SHOWS
2014 Group Show Spring Equinox Salon Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
2013 Group Show 10th Anniversary Grand Salon Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
2013 Group Show Curate NYC, Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY.
2013 Group Show Annual Photography Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
2013 Group Show MFA National Competition, First Street Gallery, New York, NY.
2013 Group Show Pratt Graduate Fine Arts 2013, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, NY.
2013 Solo Show “Buena Vista 504”, Steuben South Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.
2012 "Crisis", D9 collective, Dekalb Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.
2011 Solo Show “Entre Águas de Portugal”, Portuguese Center, Caracas, Venezuela.
2010 Solo Show “Peças da Madeira", Portuguese Center, Caracas, Venezuela.
Dxi magazine (Spain, Sep-Dec 2012)
30 Días magazine, Special edition F/115 (Venezuela, 2011)
Mundo Luso magazine, No.14 (Venezuela, 2011)
30 Días magazine, Special edition F/112 (Venezuela, 2010)
Looc Madrid magazine, No.79 (Spain, November 2009)
Dxi Pocket Madrid magazine (Spain, May-Sep 2009)
Esquire Spain (Spain, February 2009).
