What changes when an artist runs a gallery? Recorded inside 2 Mira Archiv in Madrid, this episode of The Art Bystander Podcast brings Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar together with Spanish artist and gallerist Mira Bernabeu, founder of 1 Mira Madrid and an archive space dedicated to conserving, digitising and exhibiting cultural material.
Bernabeu’s career connects the making of images with the practical responsibilities of supporting other artists. From studying psychology and fine art to developing staged photographs with his own family, he has consistently examined the relationships, expectations and systems through which people organise their lives.
That perspective also informs his gallery. We discuss his years co-directing Espaivisor in Valencia, his move to Madrid, and why he decided never to exhibit his own work in his gallery. He explains how he builds connections between exhibitions, what he has learnt from international art fairs, and how he balances artistic conviction with the need to sustain a business.
At the centre of the conversation is the archive. Bernabeu recalls working with Graciela Carnevale to create a facsimile of the Tucumán Arde archive, enabling it to circulate while the original remained in Argentina. He also describes the research and conservation involved in working with artists’ papers, photographs and objects, including the archive of Lea Lublin, and considers how that work will change as more of an artist’s life is recorded digitally.
The conversation becomes personal as Bernabeu reflects on surviving a stroke, becoming more direct, and resisting the expectation that he should abandon his plans. He describes how he protects time for his own practice while establishing an archive that has become a substantial new commitment.
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