Dana Lixenberg. American Images

From 1 October 2026 to 17 January 2027, KBr Fundación MAPFRE, the photography centre on Avinguda del Litoral, shows the first major retrospective of the Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg (Amsterdam, 1964). American Images covers more than thirty years of work in the United States. It is co-organised with the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), where it opened in Paris in February 2026, and curated by Laurie Hurwitz (MEP) and Marcel Feil (Foam, Amsterdam).

At its core is Imperial Courts, the project Lixenberg started in 1993 in a housing estate in Watts, Los Angeles, and still returns to. Around it hang the portraits she made for magazines, including Tupac Shakur in 1993 for Vibe, The Notorious B.I.G., Prince, Kate Moss, Leonard Cohen and Paul Bowles. Other series follow homeless people in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and the Iñupiaq community of Shishmaref, Alaska, threatened by climate change. Time Out counts more than 120 photographs, an installation of about 300 Polaroids from her celebrity shoots (1993–2003) and two video projections.

Lixenberg works with a large-format camera, a slow method that leaves time for the sitter. Rappers, film stars and the residents of a Los Angeles estate get the same attention and the same frame, which gives a view of the United States far from the usual clichés. It is a good match for anyone who knows the Tupac portrait without knowing who took it.

KBr opens Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays, 11 am to 7 pm, and is closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 6 January. The €5 ticket (reduced €3) includes a free online audio guide in English, Spanish and Catalan via QR code, and also gives access to KBr Flama’26, the show of young Barcelona photographers on at the same time. Free guided tours in Spanish run Wednesday to Sunday. Tickets are for a set day and time and cannot be refunded. The building has a ramp and a large lift, and is served by metro lines L1 and L4.