Carpenters Workshop Gallery are proud to present My Niemeyer Years: Brazilian Modernity from June 1 to 16 September, 2023, illustrating the richness of modern Brazilian design in conversation with the works of celebrated French photographer Matthieu Salvaing, in Paris.

Exhibited on the top floor of the gallery, a collection of photographs by Salvaing retrace the years (1998 – 2006) he spent building a strong friendship and beautiful creative collaboration with the world-renowned architect, Oscar Niemeyer. The curation of the exhibition by Salvaing documents the undeniable influence that modern Brazilian design commands globally, by orchestrating a skilful dialogue between art, design, photography and architecture, in a thoughtful arrangement of pieces by the Campana Brothers, Hauner & Eisler, and Jorge Zalszupin.

The exhibition pays homage to Niemeyer’s style and serves as a glimpse into the culture and history of the time. The ambitious images honour the poetry of Niemeyer’s free and sensual curves, emphasising the modernity of Brazilian brutalism, its social and philosophical dimensions whilst magnifying their spectacular proportions.

Through the wealth of its resources, culture and craft tradition, Brazil is a country that has made design and creative enterprise a tool for societal development and economic growth like no other. Brazilian design is a vibrant blend of creativity, diversity, and sustainability, infused with organic forms and innovative materials, that captivate the country’s unique energy. Through this collaborative exhibition, Carpenters Workshop Gallery continue their pursuit to perpetuate the rediscovery of Brazilian functional art through a contemporary lens by presenting the works of artists who demonstrate Brazil’s design aesthetic at the highest possible standard.

Matthieu Salvaing, French photographer, lives in Paris and has travelled the world for over twenty years. He learned photography and developed his style in Arles and produced his first photo documentary in Andalusia at the age of 16. His departure for South America a year later was the beginning of a long and intimate encounter with Latin American countries and especially Brazil, where he then spent most of his time.

Born out of the long stays in Brazil - his friendship and collaborative works with Oscar Niemeyer, to whom he devotes an important monograph published in 2008 by Assouline. His sense of detail and the art of capturing the soul of places lead him to architectural and design photography, collaborating with major names as well as with the talents of tomorrow. From the Shakespearean castles of Scotland to the brutalist villas of Acapulco Bay, he travels the world in images giving rise to numerous international publications.

Passionate about people, travel and the art of living, his photography explores reportage, portraits and lifestyle. He works regularly with luxury houses and international press titles as well as publishing houses for a singular highlighting of artists and creators. He is also interested in film sets, devoting a signing series to them and the famous “2046” by Wong Kar Wai.

At the same time, Matthieu Salvaing devotes himself to a more personal work of documentary photography and is currently preparing various book projects. In particular on modernist architecture in Lebanon, which will be released next fall by Norma editions. He has also been documenting vernacular African architecture for two years now, an inexhaustible source of art and history which gives him the opportunity to return to film photography.