Geraldo de Barros
“Fotoforma”, São Paulo, Brasil, 1949/2014
superimposition of images on photogram, gelatin and silver on paper
superposição de imagens no fotograma, gelatina e prata sobre papel
superposição de imagens no fotograma, gelatina e prata sobre papel
28.5 x 31 cm (image/imagem)
11 1/4 x 12 1/4 in
30 x 40 cm (paper/papel))
11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
11 1/4 x 12 1/4 in
30 x 40 cm (paper/papel))
11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in
Geraldo de Barros was one of the most relevant figures of the Brazilian art scene of the 20th century, and, though he began working as a painter, he remains an...
Geraldo de Barros was one of the most relevant figures of the Brazilian art scene of the 20th century, and, though he began working as a painter, he remains an indisputable pioneer of abstract photography. Displayed here is a selection of his series of photographs ‘Fotoformas’ (1946-1951) in which de Barros experimented with a variety of techniques: solarization, manipulation of the image, drawing with ink on negatives, and multiple exposures. Also on display is a small selection from the ‘Sobras’ (remains) collages of old family snapshots from the 1950s on glass plates. The series is his last, which he began in 1996 and worked on up until his death in 1998. This kind of concrete photography is not completely divorced from his work of the 1940s and 50s, but rather represents an evolution from that period and shows the merging of photographic experiment and painterly collage.