Luiz Braga's Color Photography Exhibition at Galeria Leme Challenges Amazonian Art Narratives

Galeria Leme in São Paulo presents 'Colorista,' an exhibition featuring 20 photographs by Brazilian photographer Luiz Braga created between 1982 and 2023. The show highlights Braga's five-decade career documenting everyday life in the Brazilian Amazon through vibrant color images, including scenes from itinerant circus tents, modest restaurants, and domestic interiors. Curators have positioned Braga as a colorist, staging dialogues with geometric paintings by Alfredo Volpi and Paulo Pasta to challenge the concept of 'visualidade amazônica' (Amazonian visuality). This concept, promoted by critic Paulo Herkenhoff since 1982, has been criticized for generically labeling Amazonian artists and limiting their connection to broader artistic debates. Braga's work includes 'Banquinhos no Guamá' (1982), a one-meter-square Fujichrome photograph of red-and-white barstools on a blue deck overlooking the Guamá River, referencing Pará state flag colors. Another piece, 'Rapaz e cão em Carananduba' (1990), shows a boy with a dog against pink floral wallpaper, capturing Mosqueiro Island's languid atmosphere. The exhibition addresses criticism that Braga's work exploits images of traditional and mixed-heritage groups, arguing his primary interest lies in formal visual reality rather than portraiture. Despite conceptual shortcomings, the show reaffirms photography's autonomy from painting and honors Amazonian visual traditions. 'Colorista' runs from June 29 to August 10, 2023.