Exhibitions & Publications

I'm Cosme Lapena, a Barcelona-based street and urban photographer. Since 2010 my work has been part of group exhibitions in Barcelona, first at espai [b] in Gràcia and, since 2026, also at PH21 Gallery, and I contribute to 35mmc. This page collects that track record, along with how it all started.

Exhibitions

Photography, for me, has never stayed only on screen. For more than fifteen years I've exhibited at espai [b] alongside close friends Jordi Comes and Benet Solina. It started with a single photograph. In the most recent editions, I've shown over a hundred. In 2026 my work also hung outside espai [b] for the first time, at PH21 Gallery.

2026 — Artists in Dialogue

PH21 Gallery, Barcelona · 26 October – 10 November 2026
A group exhibition of Barcelona street photographers, shown in dialogue with the work of British street photographer Streetmax, to open PH21 Gallery's new space on carrer de Regomir, in the Gothic Quarter. My first show outside espai [b].

Poster for 100x100PHOTO group exhibition at espai [b], Barcelona, 2026.

Photographers Jordi Comes, Cosme Lapena and Benet Solina in front of a wall of prints at the 100x100PHOTO exhibition, espai [b], Barcelona, October 2026.

2026 — 100x100PHOTO

espai [b], Barcelona · 1–23 October 2026
Three photographers, one gallery: Jordi Comes, Benet Solina and I returned with a new edition of 100x100PHOTO, each showing around a hundred prints, some three hundred photographs mixed on every wall. Read the full story of the opening →

Visitors inside espai [b] gallery in Barcelona during the 100x100PHOTO exhibition, October 2026, seen from the street.

Poster for 100x100PHOTO group exhibition at espai [b], Barcelona, 2025.

espai [b] gallery storefront in Barcelona during the 100x100PHOTO exhibition, January 2025, with walls of small prints visible inside.

2025 — 100x100PHOTO

espai [b], Barcelona · 30 January – 21 February 2025
A three-photographer show with Jordi Comes and Benet Solina. My contribution: over a hundred photographs, most of them street and urban work, filling the gallery walls alongside large-format framed prints.

Poster for Christmas Group Show at espai [b], Barcelona, 2023-2024.

2023–24 — Christmas Group Show

espai [b], Barcelona · 12 December 2023 – 5 January 2024
A large group exhibition with more than twenty artists. I showed twenty photographs.

Poster for En Sèrie exhibition at espai [b], Barcelona, 2016.

Nine framed New York cityscapes by Cosme Lapena on the wall of espai [b] gallery, Barcelona, during the En Sèrie exhibition, 2016.

2016 — En Sèrie

espai [b], Barcelona · 26 May – 18 June 2016
A group exhibition built around the idea of the photographic series. I contributed twelve images of New York: skylines, bridges and the city at night.

A visitor looks at Cosme Lapena's New York series at the En Sèrie exhibition, espai [b], Barcelona, 2016.

2010–11 — 100x100 PHOTO

espai [b], Barcelona · December 2010 – January 2011
My first exhibition: one photograph among a hundred, by a hundred photographers. Mine was Futbolí, a close-up of a well-worn table football player, his painted grin facing the camera. Where it all began.

Futbolí, a photograph by Cosme Lapena: close-up of a worn wooden table football player with painted blue eyes and a wide grin, other players blurred behind.

Wall of prints at the 100x100 PHOTO group exhibition, espai [b], Barcelona, 2010, with Cosme Lapena's Futbolí in the bottom centre.

Publications

Alongside the exhibitions, some of the work has found a home in photography publications.

**2026 — 35mmc · Standing Still in the Glass**

One Shot Story · October 2026 · Read the story →
A woman in black, standing still in the glass doors of Prague’s National Theatre while every reflection around her came back twice. The story behind a single frame, shot with a Leica Q3.

**2026 — The Eye of Photography · Barcelona Twice**

Portfolio · October 2026 · Read the portfolio →
Fifteen reflections in which Barcelona appears twice in a single frame, published in the readers’ portfolio section of L’Œil de la Photographie, the Paris-based daily magazine of photographic art.

**2026 — 35mmc · Two Cameras, One City**

Article · September 2026 · Read the article →
What gear choice taught me about shooting Barcelona in black and white. 35mmc is an independent photography blog founded by Hamish Gill in the UK, where I’m a contributing writer.

From a Voigtländer to Leica

Everything began with my father's camera, a Voigtländer Vito B: a compact, fully mechanical 1950s viewfinder camera with a fixed 35mm lens. It was the camera that taught me to look.
Like many photographers of my generation, I moved from film (prints and slides) to the first consumer digital cameras, and over the years I've worked with Cosina, Olympus, Canon, Sony, Ricoh and Nikon. The turning point was the Sony A7II, my first full-frame mirrorless camera.
Today I shoot street photography mainly with the Leica Q3, and travel with a Sony a7R IV and a 24–105mm zoom. I've owned many cameras and lenses, and I've cherished each one.
More about the equipment I use on the Gear page.

A vintage Voigtlander camera with a silver metal body and black textured grip, featuring a lens with aperture and focus rings, and a top dial for settings.