September 22, 2016

Latin American Modernism Comes Alive Through Leonardo Finotti’s Lens

Leonardo Finotti’s photographs installed at Galerie 94 in Baden, Switzerland. Image courtesy of Leonardo Finotti.

Galerie 94 is showcasing a retrospective of world-renowned architectural photographer Leonardo Finotti. The São Paulo–based artist presents three recent projects—Pelada, Identidade Latino-Americana, and Rio Enquadrado—all capturing the impact of urban design and modern architecture on the Latin American vernacular.

“South America does not have a rich culture of documentation,” Finotti remarks in an excerpt of his new Lars Müller–published book, A Collection of Latin American Modern Architecture, which was released alongside the exhibition. “This means that Latin American modernism has tended to be internationally undervalued.” Finotti’s publication examines 100 examples of Latin American modernism spanning cities like Asunción, Montevideo, and Havana.
 

An image from Finotti’s Pelada collection. 

The retrospective features Finotti’s Pelada (2014), which examines how the omnipresent campo de peladafutebol field—interacts with the Brazilian urban periphery. Finotti’s aerial shots juxtapose the soccer field’s vast, orderly expanse with the surrounding favela’s disorderly density.
 

Cuba’s FOCSA Building, exhibited at the MoMA and part of Finotti’s Identidate Latino-Americana collection.

Finotti will also display Identidade Latino-Americana, highlighting his involvement in the 2015 MoMA exhibit Latin America in Construction: Architecture 1955-1980. The landmark exhibition featured a Finotti image of the FOCSA Building, Cuba’s tallest structure.
 

One of the 80 square photographs that compose Rio Enquadrado.

His most recent work, Rio Enquadrado (Rio Framed), a nod to Rio de Janeiro’s 450th birthday, showcases 80 square black-and-white photographs of the 2016 Olympic city’s urban fabric, a project in the works since 2007.

Galerie 94 is located in Baden, Switzerland, and will display Finotti’s photographs until October 2nd.

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