Thursday 22 May 2008

pancho guedes

What a turn-out! I have not seen an exhibition opening like this ever! So Pancho is currently 84 and very lively! Talking about the Republic of Eclectica, and a whole lot more...
I also like the National Gallery very much, such a nice interior with "skylights".
Pancho has a passion for art and architecture, and really integrates the two. See some of his art work below.






"This exhibition was originally commissioned and produced by the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel from September 2007 to January 2008. Curated by Pedro Gadanho, it focused on Pancho’s extraordinary achievement in Mozambique, where he was involved in 500 projects.
A component of the exhibition, curated by Henning Rasmuss and Dagmar Hoetzel, introduces his work in South Africa, which remains largely unpublished and little known. It has never before been shown in South Africa or Mozambique, the two African countries in which he exerted enormous influence.
Born in Portugal, Pancho went to Mozambique as a child, but attended high school in Johannesburg and obtained his architectural degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. On leaving Mozambique he became Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Wits from 1975 to 1990. He was the first internationally acclaimed Portuguese architect to represent his country at the Biennale di Venezia in 1976 and again in 2006.
At a time when little attention was paid in South Africa to the aesthetic production of the African continent, Pancho tirelessly promoted vernacular architecture and the work of African artists. It is a privilege to be able to view the full retrospective of his oeuvre."

1 comment:

Denise Kiggan said...

What a lovely story! How special to be there!