Né à São Paulo en 1899, Gaspar Gasparian était un industriel spécialisé dans le textile et un homme d’affaires avisé. Il se tourne vers la photographie au début des années 1940.
La pratique de Gaspar Gasparian, qui évolue d’un style proche du pictorialisme à une quasi-abstraction, reflète l’histoire du modernisme brésilien et plus largement du modernisme photographique à l’international. Ses œuvres font en effet écho à la Subjective Fotografie de Otto Steinert et Peter Keetman en Allemagne et au New Bauhaus/Institute of Design de Chicago incarné par Harry Callahan et Aaron Siskind.
Après une période pictorialiste très courte, il rejoint le Foto Cine Club Bandeirante à São Paulo en 1942, où il rencontre les photographes Thomaz Farkas et Geraldo de Barros. A la recherche d’un langage photographique moderne, Gasparian va explorer différentes formes et sujets photographiques jusqu’en 1964. Il photographie aussi bien dans la rue que dans son studio, jouant sur le rapport entre sujet et forme, ombre et lumière, géométrie et abstraction. En 1950, il quitte le Foto Cine Club Bandeirante et crée le O Grupo dos Seis avec cinq autres artistes dont Angelo Francisco Nuti and Ricardo Belinazzi.
Sur une vingtaine d’années particulièrement fécondes, de 1942 à 1964, Gasparian a su construire une vision qui lui soit propre au sein de la scène moderniste brésilienne. Son héritage photographique est aujourd’hui conservé au sein de la Collection Gaspar Gasparian, créée par son fils qui oeuvre sans relâche pour préserver et diffuser les images réalisées durant l’âge d’or du photoclubisme au Brésil. Ses œuvres ont depuis quelques années rejoint les collections de musées prestigieux comme le MoMa, NY et la Tate Modern, Londres.
© 2025 Estate of Gaspar Gasparian
COLLECTIONS
Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami, USA ; MASP Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil ; MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA ; Tate Modern, London, UK ; Museum of Comtemporary Arts, Gimry, Armenia ; Fundação Marcos Amaro, São Paulo
PRIX
1944
Prix Anchieta, offert par la Ville de São Paulo.
Médaille d’or au 3e Salon d’art photographique de São Paulo.
1948
3e Prix, « Cândido Fontoura », Concours Brasil-Revista do Rio de Janeiro.
1950
Diplôme d’honneur au Quatrième Salon International d’Art Photographique de Luxembourg.
1951
Mention spéciale au 12e Salon annuel de Tres Arroyos, Argentine.
1952
Médaille d’argent à la 1re Exposition internationale d’art photographique de l’Association brésilienne.
1954
1er, 2e et 3e prix de la catégorie « Nature morte », Concours international de photographie artistique du IVe centenaire de la ville de São Paulo.
1956
Médaille d’argent, 7e Salon international d’art photographique de Luxembourg.
1958
Médaille d’argent au Salon yougoslave.
1960
Médaille de bronze, 7e Salon international d’art photographique du Mozambique.
1961
Plaque d’argent, 2e Exposition internationale d’Adélaïde, en Australie.
1964
Trophée de la Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, IVe Salon national de Volta Redonda.
Premier prix de photographie noir et blanc, concours international du 17e Salon d’art photographique de Capixaba, à Vitória.
1965
Mention honorable, 1er Salon national d’art photographique de Mirassol.
Médaille d’argent, Salon d’art photographique du Pará.
EXPOSITIONS PERSONNELLES
2017
Gaspar Gasparian, Distant Fragments, 1er Trienalle Yerevan, Arménie.
2012
Gaspar Gasparian, Luciana Brito / Galeria, São Paulo, Brésil.
2011
Gaspar Gasparian. A Photographer, Musée Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Paraná, Brésil.
2010
Gaspar Gasparian. A Photographer, Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brésil.
2007
Gaspar Gasparian in Africa, Museum Afro Brazil, São Paulo, Brésil.
1990
Gaspar Gasparian. Photographs, Museum of Sound and Image, São Paulo, Brésil.
EXPOSITIONS COLLECTIVES
2025
“Construction, Déconstruction, Reconstruction”. Photographie Moderniste brésilienne (1939, 1964), Rencontres d’Arles, Arles.
2022
Afro-Atlantic Histories, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA.
Afro-Atlantic Histories, the National Gallery of Arts, Washington, D.C, USA.
Foto Cine Clube Bandeirantes, “Global Aesthetic Itineraries in Transformation”, Almeida e Dale, São Paulo, Brésil.
2021
FOTOCLUBISMO – Brazilian Modernist Photography, 1946, 1964, MoMA, New York, USA.
Brazilian Modernists: Three Masters of Foto-Cine Clube Bandeirante, Cromwell Place, Augusta Edwards Fine Art, Londres, Grande-Bretagne.
2019
Modern Photography, The idea of construction as a metaphor for modernity, Luciana Brito Gallery, São Paulo, Brésil.
Doble Look, Modern Brazilian Photography and Painting, Roberto Marinho’s House, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
“Abstract Lens”, MoMA, New York, USA.
Modern Forever, Itaú Cultural, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chili.
Extase Shaft | Photography in the Modernist Environment, SIM Gallery, São Paulo, Brésil.
Approaches, Brief Introduction to the Brazilian Art to the 20th Century, Marcos Amaro Art Factory, Itú, Brésil.
2018
Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern, Londres, Grande-Bretagne.
Afro-Atlantics Stories, MASP and Tomie Ohtake Institute, São Paulo, Brésil.
Sensitive Constructions: The Latin American Geometric Experience, Ella Fontanals–Cisneros Collection, Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB), Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
2017
São Paulo isn’t a City, SESC 24 Maio, São Paulo, Brésil.
Ways to See Brazil, Itaú Cultural 30 anos. Oca São Paulo, Brésil.
Sensitive Constructions, Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, FIESP São Paulo, Brésil.
2016
In The Studio, Tate Modern, Londres, Grande-Bretagne.
Modern Forever, Itaú Cultural, Brasilia, Brésil.
2015
Acqua#6 Project Giorgio Armani, Paris Photo, Paris.
Photo Cine Club Bandeirantes: From Archive To Network, São Paulo, Brésil.
Modern Forever, Itaú Cultural, Pinacoteca Benedito Calixto, Santos, Brésil.
Portraits: The Last Headline, Galeria Bergamin, São Paulo, Brésil.
Adventures of the Black Square, Abstract Art and Society 1915-2015, Whitechapel Gallery, Londres, Grande-Bretagne.
2014
The Modern Lens, Internacional Photography and the Tate Collection, Tate St. Ives, Grande-Bretagne.
Subjektive Fotografie 2, Kicken Gallery, Berlin, Allemagne.
Urbes Mutantes- Fotografia Latinoamericana, 1941-2012, International Center of Photography, New York, USA.
2013
Urbes Mutantes 1941 -2012, Fotografia Latinoamericana, Museo de Arte Del Banco de La Republica, Bogotá, Colombie.
2011
América Fría, La Abstracción Geométrica de Latinoamérica (1934 – 1973), Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Espagne.
Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Suisse.
2010
ES BALUARD, Museum D’Art Modern i Contemporani, Palma, Espagne.
VIBRACIÓN, MODERNE KUNST AUS LATEINAMERIKA, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Allemagne.
2009
Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante, 70 Years, São Paulo Cultural Center, São Paulo, Brésil.
Photographic Art Exhibit, the 1950’s, Galeria Tempo, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, USA.
2007
Fragments, Modernism in Brazilian Photography, Bergamin Gallery, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
2006
The Sites of Latin American Abstraction, Cisneros Fontanais Art Foundation, Miami, Florida, USA.
2001
Built Realities: From Pictorials to Modern Photography, Itaú Cultural Campinas e Belo Horizonte, Brésil.
Pirelli Collection/MASP of Photography, MASP Museum of Art of São Paulo, Brésil.
1998
Bandeirante: An Outlook on 59 Years, Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
1996
Modern Photography in Brazil, Contemporary Art Museum of the University of São Paulo, Brésil.
1965
Seventh International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Foto Clube of Minas Gerais, Brésil.
First National Exhibit of Photographic Art of Mirassol, Foto Cine Clube of Mirassol, Brésil.
XLI International Exhibition of Artistic Photography, Sociedad Fotografica de Zaragoza, Espagne.
Paraense Exhibit of Photographic Art, Belém, Brésil.
1964
XVII Capixaba International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Clube of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, Brésil.
XI Barretos International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube Barretos, Brésil.
Fourth National Exhibit of Photographic Art, Volta Redonda, Brésil.
1963
X Jauense International Exhibit of Photographic Art, 2nd International, Foto Clube of Jaú, Brésil.
First Interamerican Exhibit of Photographic Art, Brazilian Confederacy of Photography and Cinema, Cine Foto Clube of Ribeirão Preto, Brésil.
XXXIX International Photography Exhibition, Sociedad Fotografica de Zaragoza, Espagne.
First National Exhibit of Photographic Art, Rio Foto Grupo, Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
Sixth International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Foto Clube de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brésil.
Ninth International Photo Exhibition, Autriche.
Biannual Medunarodni Fotografije, Zadar, Yougoslavie.
Fifth Exhibit of Photographic Art, Cine Clube Jundiaí, Brésil.
XIX International exhibition of Photographic Art, Foto Club Buenos Aires, Argentine.
1961
Tenth International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Club Fotografico de Mexico, Mexique.
IX Annual International Exhibit of Artistic Photography, Necochea, Argentine.
X International Exhibit of Photography, Alicante, Espagne.
First Thai International Salon of Pictorial Photography, Photographic Society of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailande.
Second Annual Exhibit of Photography, Adelaide Camera Club, Australie.
1960
International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Mozambique.
IV International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Clube de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brésil.
1959
XXXV International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Sociedad Fotografica de Zaragoza, Espagne.
Third International Exhibition of Photographic Art, FIAP, Paris.
Fourth International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Santos Foto Cine Club, Santos, Brésil.
1958
Ninth Singapore Salon, Singapore.
Third International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Santos, Brésil.
19th International Photography Exhibition, Foto Clube 6 x 6 and Portuguese Association of Photography, Lisbon, Portugal.
1957
10th International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube Sancarlense, São Carlos, Brésil.
1956
VII International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Luxembourg.
IX Capixaba Exhibition of Photographic Art, Foto Clube do Espírito, Vitoria, Espírito Santo, Brésil.
Sixth Campinas Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube of Campinas, Brésil.
Third National Exhibition of Art in Recife, Foto Cine Clube of Recife, Brésil.
First International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brésil.
1955
Second International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Ministério da Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
First National Exhibition of Photographic Art, Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brésil.
VII International Exhibition of Photography, Sociedad Fotográfica de Guipúzcoa, San Sebastián, Espagne.
18th International Exhibition of Photographic Art, Portuguese Association of Photography, Lisbon, Portugal.
VII Campista Exhibit of Photographic Art, V National Exhibition, Sociedade Campista de Fotografia, Campos, Brésil.
Sixth Photographic Art Exhibit, Foto Cine Clube of Ribeirão Preto, Brésil.
X International Exhibition of Hong Kong, Chine.
First National Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube Jundiaí, Brésil.
1954
International Competition of Artistic Photography, IV Centennial of the City of São Paulo, ACM -Foto Cine Club Bandeirante and IV Centennial Board, São Paulo, Brésil
Fifth Campinas Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Clube of Campinas, Brésil
1953
First Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Clube de Jaboticabal, Rotary Club and City Hall of Jaboticabal, Brésil.
1952
11th International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Cine Club Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
17th Lyon Exhibit, Lyon.
First International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Brazilian Association of Photographic Art, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
V Luxembourg Exhibition, Luxembourg.
XI International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Agrupación Fotografica of Catalonia, Barcelona, Espagne.
1951
X International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Agrupación Fotografica of Catalonia, Barcelone, Espagne.
15th Exhibit of Johannesburg, Afrique du Sud.
35th Scotland Exhibition, Ecosse.
XXVII International Photography Exhibit, Sociedad Fotografica de Zaragoza, Espagne.
39th Paris Exhibition, France.
Fifth Exhibit of Portraits and Shapes of Bologna, Italie.
XII Salon Annual de Arte Fotografico, Tres Arroyos, Argentine.
10th International Exhibit of Photographic Art of São Paulo, Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante, FIAP, São Paulo’s City Hall, São Paulo, Brésil.
4th Exhibition of Bangalore, Mysore Photographic Society, Inde.
1950
Ninth International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Galeria Prestes Maia, São Paulo, Brésil.
I Photo Biennale der FIAP, Federation Internationale de L’Art Photographique, Bern, Suisse.
XXVI Salón Internacional de Fotografía, Zaragoza’s International Photographic Association, Espagne.
Thirteenth International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Gremio Portugues de Fotografia, Lisbonne, Portugal.
IX Brazilian Exhibition of Photographic Art, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil.
Quatrième Salon Internationale D’Art Photographique de Luxemburg, Luxemburg’s Camera Photographic Association, Luxembourg.
First International Exhibit of Stockholm, Suède.
38th International Exhibition of Paris, France.
IV International Exhibit of Cuba, Cuba.
Seventeenth Antwerp Exhibition, Fotografisch Krigs Iris, Belgique.
1949
Premier Salon Internacional de Photographie de Québec, Musée Provincial de Québec, Canada.
Montreal’s Salon Internacional de Photographie, Montreal Camera Club, Canada.
III Cairo Exhibition, Egypte.
X International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Foto Club Uruguayo, Uruguay.
Seventh International Western Canadian Salon of Photography, Art Gallery, Manitoba Camera Club, Canada.
VIII International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Agrupación Fotográfica of Catalonia, Barcelone, Espagne.
Eighth International Exhibit of Photographic Art of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brésil
1948
Seventh International Exhibit of Photographic Art of São Paulo, Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
Second International Exhibition of Denmark, Danemark.
Ninth International Exhibition of Vancouver, Canada.
Fifteenth Exhibit of Antwerp, Fotografishe Krisg Iris, Belgique.
1947
Sixth International Exhibit of Photographic Art of São Paulo- Foto Cine Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
Sixth Annual International Exhibition, Southgate Photographic Society, Londres, Grande-Bretagne.
1946
Fifth International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Galeria Prestes Maia, São Paulo, Brésil.
Tenth Annual « Salón de Arte Fotográfico Internacional », Argentine Photo Club, Buenos Aires, Argentine.
XXII « Salón Internacional de Fotografía », Zaragoza’s Photography Association, Espagne.
1945
Fourth Paulista Exhibit of Photographic Art (International), Foto Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
1944
Third Paulista Exhibit of Photographic Art (International), São Paulo City Hall, Foto Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
Fifth International Exhibit of Photographic Art, Galeria Prestes Maia, São Paulo, Brésil.
1943
Second Paulista Exhibit of Photographic Art, São Paulo City Hall, Foto Clube Bandeirante, São Paulo, Brésil.
Bibliographie
Helouise Costa (dir.), Marcella Legrand Marer (dir.), La photographie moderniste brésilienne (1939-1964). Construction, déconstruction, reconstruction, Atelier EXB, 2025.
Sarah Hermanson Meister, Fotoclubismo: Brazilian Modernist. Photography and the Foto-Cine, Clube Bandeirante, 1946–1964, The Museum of Modern Art , 2021.
Quentin Bajac, Lucy Gallun, Roxana Marcoci, Sarah Hermanson Meister, Photography at MoMA 1920-1960, The Museum of Modern Art, 2016.
Gaspar Gasparian um fotografo, 1954 – 1955, Musée Oscar Niemeyer, 2011.
Gaspar Gasparian, um fotograto, Imprensa Oficial Governo do Estado De Sao Paulo, 2010.
Gaspar Gasparian, Um fotografo paulista, Editora Marca d’Agua, Sao Paulo, 1988.
Pietro Maria Bardi, Em torno da fotografia no Brasil, Banco Sudameris do Brasil, São Paulo, 1987.
Gilberto Ferrez, A fotografia no Brasil, Funarte/Pro-Memoria, Rio de Janeiro, 1985.
Gilles Mora, L’acte du photographe, Contrejour/Frac Aquitaine, Nancy, 1985.
Walter Zanini (org.), Historía geral da arte no Brasill, vol. II, Instituto Walther Moreira Salles/Fundação Djalma Guimarães, São Paulo, 1983.
Kossoy Boris, Álbum de photographias do Estado de São Paulo – 1892, estudo critico, Kosmos, São Paulo, 1984.
Ebe Reale, Brás, Pinheiros, Jardins: três bairros, três mundos, Pioneira/Ed. da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 1982.
Maria Celestina Teixeira Mendes Torres, O bairro do Brás, Série História dos Bairros de São Paulo-1, Secretaria Municipal de Cultura, Prefeitura do Município de São Paulo, São Paulo, 1981.
História dos meus antepassados, Oficinas Gráficas dos Padres Mekhitaristas, São Paulo, 1980.
Maria Cecilia Naclério Homem, Higienópolis, grandeza e decadência de um bairro paulistano, Série História dos Bairros de São Paulo-17, Secretaria Municipal de Cultura, Prefeitura do Município de São Paulo, São Paulo, 1980.
Album de fotografias por Gaspar Gasparian, Sao Paulo, 1956-1957.
Album de fotografias por Gaspar Gasparian, Sao Paulo, 1953.
Articles:
“Brasileiros no MoMa”, Caderno 2, 22/07/2015.
“Subjektive fotografie 2”, Newsletter, Kicken Berlin, Hiver 2014.
“Berlin. Subjective Photography, a Retrospective”, L’Œil de la Photographie, 7/03/2014.
“De Londres a Berlim, obra de Gaspar Gasparian vive processo de resgate”, Estadão, 12/02/2014.
“Com 25 galerias e 250 obras, a SP-Arte/Foto começa amanhã”, Caderno2, 2013.
“Sales Snapshot: What’s Hot at the 2012 AIPAD Photo Show”, Blouin, 30/03/2012.
“Álbum de Família”, Revista Poder, 02/2012.
“Paris Photo edition 2011. Nos coups de cœur”, AD, 10/11/2011.
“Metrópolis – Gaspar Gasparian”, TV Cultura, 27/10/2010.
Folha de S. Paulo, “L’envers de la modernité”, 23/10/1987.
Bulletins du Bandeirante Photo Club, du n° 1 au n° 100, de 1946 à 1954.
Catalogues d’expositions photographiques nationales et internationales, de 1942 à 1965.
