José Oiticica Filho
Photography and Invention
Through March 15, 2008
Rua Luis de Camões, 68
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Brazil
In 1943, Oiticica Filho began participating in international photo club exhibitions, with his first entry being the pictorial work “Luz Dançante” at the VI Salon Internacional de Fotografia in Montevidéu in Brazil. He participated in 650 exhibitions throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, receiving multiple prizes and accolades. He was twice named one of the 10 best photographers in the world: in 1953 by the American Annual of Photography, and in 1956 by the FIAP (Féderation Internationale d’art Photographique). His exposure to an array of art forms and close contact with Concrete and Neo-Concrete movements impacted his works. He was particularly influenced by the artists Ivan Serpa, Lygia Clark, and Lygia Pape, and by his sons Hélio and Cesar Oiticica.
José Oiticica Filho (1906-1964) was a true Renaissance man, excelling in and interweaving mathematics, physics, physical education, natural science, photography and painting. He produced a total of 64 research papers in Brazilian and international journals. His microphotographic work on Lepidoptera, a butterfly genus, and his desire to best illustrate the subject in his scientific works, aroused his interest in photography as an art form. Inquisitive and innovative by nature, he integrated his influences into his work and made bold advances into geometric and abstract photography. Oiticica is now considered to be one of the key figures responsible for the renewal and modernization of photography in Brazil, and in Photography and Invention his work is for the first time fully represented and examined.
Photography and Invention opened on September 15, 2007 and runs through March 15, 2008.