Alex Bex. Look Again

September 9th - October 24th, 2025

GABY VERA GALLERY

Calle de Fernández de la Hoz, 30. Madrid. Spain

First solo exhibition in Spain by French-American photographer Alex Bex. The exhibition brings together a selection of key works from the internationally acclaimed Memories of Dust project, in which the artist subtly and profoundly challenges the archetypal image of the American cowboy, not only with the aim of documenting rural life in Texas, but also of exploring and generating new ideas about masculinity: less rigid, more empathetic, somewhat more realistic and accurate.

In Memories of Dust, Bex takes on the role of both photographer and active spectator, participating in the daily lives of various groups of cowboys to capture their routines, vulnerabilities and contradictions from within. This closeness allows him to expose the cracks in the stereotype, portraying cowboys not as heroic figures hardened by the desert dust, but as complex, sensitive and deeply contemporary human beings.

"The myth of the West that the visual media sells us does not correspond to the real stories I encounter in my travels," Bex explains. "I enjoy exploring the gray areas of the cowboy stereotype: traditional masculinity, cultural mythology, as well as its contradictions and silences. What interests me is that tension between what we think we know and what is really happening". 

ABOUT ALEX BEX

Born in 1986, Alex Bex grew up between France and the United States. He currently resides in Berlin. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne before devoting himself fully to photography, which he studied at the California Institute of the Arts. Since then, he has developed a body of work deeply committed to themes such as identity, representation, and territory. In recent years, his work has been widely recognised: in 2024, he received the Prix Découverte des Rencontres d'Arles and presented Memories of Dust at the Fotofest festival in Houston, where he was awarded Best Emerging Project. In 2025, he was awarded the International Center of Photography Infinity Award in the contemporary art category and selected by MoMA PS1 for the New Territories programme.

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