Max Saula: Heir to a vision

His father, Pancho Saula, traveled a long road before embracing what he now recognizes as his true vocation: once a lawyer in Spain and France, then an agent for models and photographers, later a photographer himself with works in prominent collections, and finally, a gallerist alongside Ferrara.

Together, they decided their exhibition space, Galería Alta, would also be their home. “We welcome clients there, by appointment, and explain the works to them. We avoid the notion of the gallery as a cold, white, impersonal space. Instead, we offer a lived-in environment—our living room, our kitchen…”

It is in that domestic space in Anyós that next Thursday they will unveil Inheriting Dreams, curated by Max—his first initiative of this kind and very much a family project. The young curator explains: “These are photographs I have lived with for many years, and I selected them with the aim of coherence, but following my own criteria.”

The works span a full century of photography and include names of great weight: Frank Horvat, William Klein, Ray K. Metzker, Bruce Davidson, Ramon Masats, Vivian Maier, Joel Meyerowitz, Steven Meisel, Bruce Weber, Jessica Lange, Txema Yeste… Some pieces come from the family’s private collection and will not be for sale. For the exhibition’s purpose is multifaceted.

“Of course, we need to sell in order for the gallery to continue and remain sustainable,” Pancho explains. “But our clients are getting older, and there comes a moment when they stop buying. We need to spark conversation, debate, with younger generations who live in a world that often values a watch or a car more than art. This exhibition is an exercise in reality.” After Anyós, the show will travel to their Barcelona home.

Father and son exchange views and weigh their preferences: Sarah Moon, Bruce Weber, Meyerowitz, among others. They are giants, brought into a discussion between a 52-year-old gallerist and a 19-year-old novice, talking about styles and eras. And as the writer reflects on this, it seems possible that art does, in fact, have a future. After all, he recalls debating literature and graphic novels—or comics—with his own son at a similar age, just as many parents surely do about film or music. Art has so many branches, and they connect so effortlessly—because everything comes down to sensitivity—that the mission of Galería Alta may well prove to be deeply meaningful.