Photographer Sergio Larrain, the best-kept secret of Chilean art

BarcelonaThe photographer Sergio Larrain (1931-2012) has often been considered Chilean art's best-kept secret. In 1965, he decided to leave the Magnum agency, where he was the only Latin American photographer, and embarked on a path of spiritual and philosophical exploration, gradually withdrawing from public life. Later, in 1978, he settled in Tulahuén with his son, where he lived until his death, dedicated to painting, yoga, and meditation. Furthermore, from 1999 onward, he requested that his work no longer be disseminated, so it was only after his death that his legacy gained increasing recognition. For all these reasons, the exhibition dedicated to him by the Foto Colectania Foundation, opening this Thursday and running until May 24th, and continuing in August with another exhibition at the upcoming Xavier Miserachs Photography Biennial in Palafrugell, is a true privilege.

Photographically, it has been said of Larrain that he saw what went unnoticed by others and that he looked at what Chilean society didn't want to see. It has also been said that his street photography is poetic and enigmatic, with shadows, reflections, and unexpected angles. Larrain met Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1959, who offered him a position at the Magnum agency, but he eventually distanced himself in order to dedicate himself to the subjects that truly interested him and to delve deeper into photography. "Intending to escape her family environment, Larrain obtained a British Council grant in 1958 to work in London, following in the footsteps of Bill Brandt, whom she greatly admired. It was during this time in Europe that Henri Cartier-Bresson saw her work and invited her to join the Magnu cooperative. She was the director of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation between 2003 and 2022. "However," explains Sire, "Larrain soon began to doubt the lengths she would have to go to in order to produce stories publishable in magazines. From Paris, she traveled extensively to do photojournalism for the agency."

In Barcelona, ​​Sire has selected about 80 photographs from the series Street children, Valparaíso, which he published with an essay by Pablo Neruda; Santiago and the island of ChiloéFor Sire, Larrain didn't photograph the children from a journalistic perspective, but rather from a place of intimacy. Thus, on the one hand, the children forgot they were in front of a camera, but at the same time, they were playing. "The terms Larrain uses to describe the state of grace necessary to 'receive' a good image are mystical," explains Sire, "even spiritual, as if the images already existed in the cosmos and the photographer merely acted as a medium. He cuts out fragments of reality without fear of what remains outside the frame, of the time yet to come, of daring diagonals, of the lack of sharpness, of full sunlight or twilight."