Luisa
Lambri

Choosing as subjects buildings by celebrated masters of modern architecture, Italian photographer Luisa Lambri wields a unique perspective and robust subjectivity to pick out details in ways that skillfully express the time contained in the building, the myriad manifestations of light, and the poetry dwelling therein.

“Untitled (Barragan House)” first presented in 2005 comprises shots of Barragán House (1948), designed by Mexican architect Luis Barragán. Lambri turns her gaze here not to the philosophy behind the building’s structure, or its distinctive exterior and design, but the temporal transition of bright light shining through a chink in wooden shutters covering a square window. Lambri has spoken of “trying to restore an atmosphere that goes beyond the immediate function of each construction,” and accordingly, she aims not to provide an objective record of the building, but to project her own perceptions and emotional responses to the space on images that are fragmented, even abstract.

In 2016 Lambri photographed the Met Breuer (1966) designed by Marcel Breuer. Here also she attempts to deconstruct space, so to speak, by taking architectural elements linking interior and exterior such as windows, doors and hallways, and the interplay of space and light, and elevating these to the realm of minimalist expression. Like her other works, the parenthetical reference to the building name after “Untitled” indicates her intention to maintain a certain distance from the presence of the architect, no matter how famous, and foreground her own interest in the building, and the ensuing dialogue. Branding the work with her personal perspective in this manner also bypasses the primarily male-crafted context of modernist architecture, reconstructing the photographic subject from a female point of view.

Lambri is also fascinated by the architecture of SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa). On the opening of the SANAA-designed 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Lambri was one of three photographers charged with photographing the building. In “Untitled (House in a Plum Grove)” (2004), she turns her attention to distinctive walls and wall openings in Sejima’s eponymous creation (built in 2003), however the finer details of the building were gradually lost due to under- and over-exposure during the shoot, and subsequent digital processing, ultimately throwing up a series of metaphysical images. As Lambri says, “What remains of the architecture is just an idea, and what emerges is something that transcends it.”

“Untitled (100 Untitled Works in Mill Aluminum 1982–86)” (2012) features Donald Judd’s sculpture consisting of 100 boxes. As with her architectural projects, rather than Judd’s monumental work in its entirety, Lambri captures light shimmering on its aluminum surfaces, which have a warmth that belies their inorganic sterility. The delicate beauty and rich lyricism that constitute the essence of Lambri’s work, are also on display in abundance here.