Ouka Leele, the artistic name of Bárbara Allende Gil de Biedma (Madrid, 1957–2022), was a key
figure in contemporary Spanish photography and one of the most representative visual artists of
the Spanish Transition. Her work as a poet was original and sensitive, forming an integral part of
her creative universe.

The gallery Galería RocioSantaCruz, thanks to the involvement of María Rosenfeldt, the artist’s
daughter and head of the Ouka Leele archive, brings together and presents for the first time
in an exhibition format a selection of photographs from the series Peluquería, alongside other
works the artist created during her stay in Barcelona. This project stems from the study of more
than 600 negatives and contact sheets from the period, many of them previously unseen. The
exhibition also includes unpublished texts and poems by Ouka Leele belonging to the archive of
the magazine Ajoblanco.

Throughout her career, Ouka Leele maintained a close relationship with Barcelona, where she
lived from August 1978 until 1980. It was in this city that she created her most important series,
Peluquería, now part of the permanent collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina
Sofía, where it occupies a dedicated room in the museum’s recent display

In 1979, under the title Peluquería, and in what was the artist’s first exhibition, the
series was shown for the first time at Galería Espectrum in Barcelona. It was later presented at
the Redor gallery in Madrid, an underground art space during the Franco regime.

The magazine Star published photographs by Ouka Leele on several occasions, including as
front or back covers for issues 43, 46, 48 and 52.

This was also the period during which she became closely connected with members of the
magazine El Rrollo Enmascarado, such as Nazario and Montesol, as well as other key figures of
the Catalan artistic scene including Mariscal, Pepichek, Pepe Ribas and Sergi Pàmies. She also
maintained relationships with members of the Madrid Movida living in Barcelona, such as El
Hortelano and Ceesepe.

During the following years, she returned periodically to the city. Portraits of Miquel Barceló,
Ariadna Gil, Joan Manuel Serrat and La Fura dels Baus date from this period, among others,
as do several texts on photography written for the magazine Ajoblanco, which were never
published.

Ouka Leele embodied the spirit of creative freedom and rupture that defined Spain’s transition to democracy. Through a free and experimental visual language, she broke down the boundaries between photography, painting, and performance.

Also in Barcelona, in 2019, photographs by Ouka Leele were included in La Movida. Chronicle of an Agitation. 1978–1984, 1978-1984an exhibition held at the Fundación Foto Colectania and coproduced with Les Rencontres d’Arles.

Barcelona, with its cultural vitality and history of artistic avant-garde, played a crucial role in
the dissemination and consolidation of the work of this innovative artist. There is no doubt that
the Catalan cultural scene strengthened her national and international projection. Likewise, her
presence contributed to enriching Barcelona’s artistic landscape and to reinforcing cultural links
between different Spanish cities during the final decades of the twentieth century.

The exhibition at Galería RocioSantaCruz highlights the Catalan period within the artist’s
trajectory. The works featured in the exhibition reflect the essential characteristics of her
visual universe, including the expressive use of colour, symbolic intensity, and the fusion of
photography and painting, always in close connection with Barcelona.

Acknowledgments: