f22 presents Emotional Architecture, a solo exhibition of the renowned Mexican photographer Armando Salas Portugal, at f22 Peninsula. This show features 19 photographs of the legendary Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s most important architectural works.
“I believe in ‘Emotional Architecture’,” Barragán has been quoted as saying. “It is very important for human kind that architecture should move by its beauty; if there are many equally valid technical solutions to a problem, the one which offers the user a message of beauty and emotion, that one is architecture.” By embracing the harmony of space, colour and light, Barragán created many iconic buildings that encourage warmth, meditation and calmness.
For more than 40 years, Salas Portugal photographed Barragan’s architecture. His photographs of Barragán’s works are precious icons that have nourished our fascination with this great architect. Through his beautiful photographic compositions, we have been given the unique opportunity of appreciating the dynamic interrelation between the works of these two great artists.
Born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1916, Armando Salas Portugal grew up in Mexico City. He moved to the US in 1932 and studied science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1935 to 1938. After returning to Mexico, he travelled to various regions and acquired a camera for the first time.
An explorer devoted to nature, Salas Portugal documented the rich and diverse Mexican landscapes from a unique perspective during his travels. From 1941 onwards, he began exhibiting his photographs widely in Mexico.
He met the architect Luis Barragán at his own photography exhibition in 1944 in Mexico City. Barragán was able to see the photography of Salas Portugal as an inexhaustible source of possibilities which built a strong bond between them. This artistic relationship lasted until Barragán’s death in 1988. Salas Portugal’s photography of Barragán’s work exemplifies how, in the hands of a great master, the power of photography can create enduring architectural icons.
His works have been shown and collected in important museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art and the Centre Pompidou.
Armando Salas Portugal x Luis Barragán : Emotional Architecture
From 2 February 2020 to 24 March 2020
f22 foto space
Shop W16 & W18, The Peninsula Arcade, Salisbury Road,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
