NEW YORK, NY.- Aperture Foundation, a world-renowned non-profit publisher dedicated to promoting photography in all its forms, has partnered with Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS), a Brazilian non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and disseminating Brazilian culture through photography, literature, cinema, music and the visuals arts, to present the first retrospective to be held in Brazil featuring the work of American master photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976). The show will bring together vintage prints from all the many periods of Strand’s career, ranging from 1915 to 1976. The show will debut at Instituto Moreira Salles on April 28, 2009, and then travel to Lasar Segal Museum, a sister venue in Sao Paolo, on July 22, 2009. Sergio Burgi, curator and conservator, Instituto Moreira Salles, will serve as curator.

In 1995, just five years after its founding, IMS began to compile its extensive photographic archives, and today the collection is comprised of over 450,000 works, which includes entire bodies of work by such Brazilian masters as Marc Ferrez, one of Brazil’s most important 19th century photographers, as well as early 20th century photographers Marcel Gautherot, Hildegard Rosenthal, Alice Brill and Henri Ballot, among others. The collection also includes select works by Brazilian contemporary artists such as Jose Medeiros, Madalena Schwartz and Maureen Bisilliat. The institution is now interested in expanding their range of activities in photography by hosting exhibitions with renowned international photographers outside of Brazil—Paul Strand being the first.

The majority of the Paul Strand vintage works that will be presented by IMS were recently on view in Spain as part of a retrospective on Paul Strand presented by Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, in collaboration with Aperture and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Spanish exhibition, curated by Rafael Llano, debuted last summer in A Coruña and marks the first major Strand show to be held in Europe in 30 years. Following its debut in A Coruña, the show traveled to Vigo last fall, and to Foto Colectania Foundation in Barcelona through April 4, 2009.

“As the owner of the Paul Strand archive, and publisher of many books on Strand, we are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Instituto Moreira Salles to bring the work of one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century to a wider audience,” said Juan Garcia de Oteyza, Executive Director, Aperture Foundation. “After a very successful tour of Strand’s work in Spain, we are pleased to have the chance to expose photography fans and collectors in Brazil to the work of an American master.”

To enable visitors to better understand the various artistic and thematic periods of Strand’s work, the exhibition has been divided into sections spanning Strand’s entire career, from iconic to lesser-seen work.

Exhibition on View: April 28 – July 5, 2009
Instituto Moreira Salles
Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 476
Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22451-040, Brazil
+55 21 3284-7400

Exhibition on View: July 22 – September 27, 2009
Lasar Segall Museum
Rua Berta 111
Vila Mariana, Sao Paolo
(11) 5574-7322