HISTORY
From individual pursuits to a multidisciplinary group
González Burguete Group was founded in May 2013 by Claudia González Burguete as a home for her existing activities and a foundation from which future enterprises could develop.
Its origins, however, reach further back.
Photography, writing, craft, design and engineering had already developed as different strands of Claudia's life. Rather than choosing between them, González Burguete was created to provide a structure in which different disciplines could coexist, develop independently and, where appropriate, intersect.
Over time, new enterprises emerged, earlier activities evolved and the structure of the Group changed with them.
Today, that evolution continues through three principal areas: González Burguete Creative, González Burguete Precision and González Burguete Editions.
1992-2012: Before the Group
The foundations of González Burguete developed gradually through Claudia's creative and technical interests.
Her interest in making began in 1992 through craft, including ceramic painting, aluminium embossing and woodwork. Writing followed, with Claudia beginning to write poetry around 1999 and later contributing to six poetry anthologies between 2006 and 2011.
Photography had been part of her life since childhood, after receiving her first camera while at primary school. In 2001, her first digital camera marked the beginning of an expanding photographic catalogue.
Jewellery design followed in 2002, ranging from glass-beaded pieces to designs incorporating semi-precious stones.
Alongside these creative interests, Claudia pursued engineering academically and professionally. After studying Electronics and Communication Engineering in Mexico City, she moved to England in 2002 to continue her postgraduate education.
By the beginning of the following decade, photography, writing, making and engineering had developed into substantial but separate areas of activity.
The need for a structure capable of bringing those different interests together would lead to González Burguete.
2013: The Beginning of González Burguete Group
González Burguete Group was founded in May 2013 on the eve of Claudia's first photographic exhibition.
The Group initially brought together her photography with existing creative activities, including Klauss Jewellery and Claus Crafts.
From the beginning, the intention was not to place every activity beneath a single public-facing brand. Instead, González Burguete would become the framework, while distinct identities could develop around different disciplines.
This principle would remain fundamental as the Group expanded:
One Group. Distinct identities. Shared vision.
In August 2013, Claudia's photographic identity was formally established around her exhibition programme.
Photography became one of the first significant expressions of the González Burguete model: an independent creative identity connected to a wider organisational structure.
The photographic catalogue continued to grow, eventually developing into the virtual gallery and archive now presented through Claudia González Burguete.
2015: Publishing
In January 2015, Catarina Publishing was established around the publication of Claudia's first poetry book.
What began as a means of publishing her own work developed into a broader publishing enterprise dedicated to books, editions and printed matter.
Claudia's writing and photography increasingly met through publication. Poetry collections developed into photographic editions, while photographs from her exhibition programme were brought together in photographic anthologies.
Catarina Publishing subsequently expanded beyond Claudia's individual books, providing a platform for editorial collections and other publishing projects.
Publishing had become a distinct identity in its own right.
2016: Engineering, Research & Development
A new technical direction emerged in January 2016 with the establishment of González Burguete Engineering Designs, following Claudia's acceptance to study for an MPhil in Engineering, specialising in Photonics, at University College London.
The practice provided a dedicated identity for engineering design, research and technical development.
Its activities developed around the relationship between knowledge and making: understanding technical problems through research and analysis before progressing them through engineering design and development.
Technical writing also became part of this body of work, allowing research, engineering ideas and knowledge to be communicated through articles, papers, posters and other technical publications.
González Burguete Engineering Designs established the foundations of what would become the engineering and research dimension of González Burguete Precision.
2018: From Objects to Space
In 2018, Claudia began developing custom-made pieces to display her collection of Olympic Games tickets.
What began as a practical design problem expanded into wall arrangements and other interior-related work.
These experiments introduced another dimension to creative interests that had begun much earlier through craft, jewellery and making: the relationship between object, display, material and space.
They would eventually contribute to a broader design language encompassing interiors, objects and spatial practice.
2022: Strategy & Advisory
In January 2022, Kentron was established following Claudia's development of proposals for a cultural centre and a research facility.
These projects highlighted an area of work distinct from engineering design itself: the need to understand complex requirements, explore possibilities, evaluate alternatives and establish direction before a solution could be developed.
Kentron evolved as the consulting and advisory identity within González Burguete.
Together, Kentron and Tome established two complementary areas of professional expertise:
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Kentron — Insight · Strategy · Advisory
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Tome — Research · Design · Development
Their relationship established the foundations of González Burguete Precision, the technical and professional enterprise of the Group.
2026: Rebranding & Catarina Atelier
In 2026, González Burguete entered another period of organisational development as existing identities were reconsidered and their purposes clarified.
Two established practices were renamed to reflect how their work had evolved, while a new multidisciplinary creative practice was established.
The changes did not represent the replacement of earlier work. They reflected a principle that had been present within González Burguete since its foundation: the structure should evolve with the work.
From CGB Photography to Claudia González Burguete
Claudia González Burguete Photography, previously identified through the initials CGBP, became Claudia González Burguete.
The change reflected the development of the photographic practice beyond the identity originally established around Claudia's exhibition programme.
As the body of work expanded to encompass the Gallery, Archive and Publications, the simpler name provided a broader artist-led identity through which Claudia's photographic work could be presented while retaining her individual authorship.
The change did not create a new photographic practice. It represented the continuation and evolution of the same body of work.
Earlier exhibitions and publications therefore retain the names under which they were originally created. Titles such as the CGBP Exhibitions series remain part of that history, while the current practice is presented as:
Claudia González Burguete — Photography · Gallery · Archive
The transition also clarified the distinction between Claudia's individual photographic authorship and the other creative identities developing within González Burguete Creative.
From González Burguete Engineering Designs to Tome
González Burguete Engineering Designs, established in 2016, became Tome.
During the decade following its establishment, the technical practice had developed beyond engineering design alone. Research, technical investigation, knowledge development and technical communication had become substantial parts of its identity alongside engineering design and development.
The name Tome provided a more distinctive identity for this broader technical territory while preserving continuity with the engineering practice established in 2016.
The transition therefore represented an evolution rather than the creation of an unrelated practice:
González Burguete Engineering Designs → Tome
Research · Design · Development
Earlier engineering research, publications and technical work retain their original historical context, while Tome provides the current identity through which engineering research, design, development and technical knowledge continue within González Burguete Precision.
Catarina Atelier
In August 2026, Catarina Atelier was established following the creation of Claudia's photographic studio, which provided the immediate catalyst for a broader multidisciplinary design practice.
The foundations of the Atelier, however, had developed over a much longer period through Claudia's involvement with interiors, objects, visual composition and making.
What began around the studio therefore developed beyond photography itself, providing a dedicated identity for work concerned with interiors, spaces, objects and selected creative projects.
The Atelier provides a context for work in which composition is central: bringing material, proportion, light, colour, objects and atmosphere into considered relationships.
It also creates a natural context for visual and editorial work in which concept, curation, sequencing, art direction and design become substantial parts of the creative contribution.
Photography retains its individual authorship through Claudia González Burguete, while Catarina Atelier develops its own identity around form, space and composition.
A Clearer Architecture
Together, these developments clarified the roles of several identities across González Burguete.
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Claudia González Burguete — Photography · Gallery · Archive
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Catarina Atelier — Interiors · Objects · Spatial Practice
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Catarina Publishing — Books · Editions · Printed Matter
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Tome — Research · Design · Development
The changes allowed individual disciplines to retain clearer identities while remaining connected through the wider González Burguete structure.
Existing work was not retrospectively reassigned. Earlier exhibitions, publications, research and projects retain the identities and attribution appropriate to the periods in which they were created.
Instead, 2026 represented another stage in the continuing evolution of González Burguete: refining existing identities, establishing new ones where necessary and allowing the organisational architecture to follow the character of the work itself.
The structure evolves with the work.
Today
A longstanding interest in craft, material and objects has also found a new organisational context through González Burguete Editions, with Maniera currently under development as its first specialist identity.
Today, González Burguete Group provides the overarching home for these different creative, technical and professional activities through three principal enterprises:
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González Burguete Creative — photography, design and publishing.
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González Burguete Precision — engineering, research, strategy and advisory.
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González Burguete Editions — objects, collections and editions.
Within them, individual practices and brands are allowed to develop according to their own purpose, character and area of expertise while remaining connected to the wider González Burguete vision.
The result is not a collection of unrelated businesses, but an evolving architecture built around the different ways an idea can be observed, imagined, investigated, designed, developed, made and brought into the world.
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Some ideas remain within a single discipline.
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Others create relationships between several.
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And some may eventually develop into identities that do not yet exist.
The structure is therefore expected to continue changing as the work itself evolves.
This remains consistent with the principle on which González Burguete Group was founded: to provide a home for existing ideas and a foundation for those still to come.
One Group. Distinct identities. Shared vision.