SF MOMA, San Francisco

Alejandro Cartagena

Ground Rules

Nov 22, 2025 - Apr 19, 2026

Alejandro Cartagena - Ground Rules

Overview

"For Alejandro Cartagena, there is no such thing as a decisive moment."

- Shana Lopes

Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules is the first major retrospective of the acclaimed photographer, bringing together over two decades of his work through an expansive multi-series presentation.
Born in the Dominican Republic and based in Monterrey, Mexico, Cartagena explores pressing social and environmental issues through a striking range of photographic practices that includes documentary images, collage, appropriated vernacular photographs, and AI-generated video.
His work captures the complexities of suburban sprawl, the US-Mexico border, and increasing economic inequality. As visually dynamic as they are politically incisive, his photographs prompt viewers to question the systems that shape our world.
Though rooted in Mexico, Cartagena’s photographic series speak to shared global conditions of migration, environmental crisis, and unchecked development, offering a powerful reflection on the broader forces defining life in the 21st century.

Artworks

Inquire about Invisible line, Daughter, #34 by Alejandro Cartagena

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Alejandro Cartagena

Invisible line, Daughter, #34

2017

Dimensions: 150x100 cm (59x39.3 in)

Medium: Archival Pigment print on Paper

Edition: 5 + 2 AP

Provenance

Details

Artefact ID
Medium
Archival Pigment print on Paper
Dimensions
150x100 cm (59x39.3 in)
Physical Edition
5 + 2 AP
Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules is the first major retrospective of the acclaimed photographer, bringing together over two decades of his work through an expansive multi-series presentation.
Born in the Dominican Republic and based in Monterrey, Mexico, Cartagena explores pressing social and environmental issues through a striking range of photographic practices that includes documentary images, collage, appropriated vernacular photographs, and AI-generated video.
His work captures the complexities of suburban sprawl, the US-Mexico border, and increasing economic inequality. As visually dynamic as they are politically incisive, his photographs prompt viewers to question the systems that shape our world.
Though rooted in Mexico, Cartagena’s photographic series speak to shared global conditions of migration, environmental crisis, and unchecked development, offering a powerful reflection on the broader forces defining life in the 21st century.