9 - Alair Gomes (Brazilian, 1921-1992)

Alair Gomes (Brazilian, 1921-1992) Beach Triptych No. 26, ca. 1980. Gelatin silver prints. Photographer's stamp on the verso of each image, "Beach Triptych, No. 26; Alair Gomes"; Numbered and signed on the verso of each image, one with personalized inscription. No. 26 of Alair Gomes' famous Beach Triptych series. Only one other edition of Triptych No. 26 is known, presented at the Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel exhibition, Alair Gomes and Robert Mapplethorpe, August 3-October 7, 2017. This work was personally gifted from Gomes to Dennis Forbes, known photographer, illustrator, and former art director of The Advocate, Vector, and many other gay interest publications. Each: 14 x 11 in. (35.5 x 27.9 cm) Notes: The academic, art critic, and photographer Alair Gomes was best known for his extensive body of work devoted to the male form. From 1970-1980, he began a body of work centered around photos of the beach-bodied men of Rio, taken from the window of his apartment. These works would be presented as his Sonatinas and Beach Triptych series. During his own lifetime, Gomes' work was under-recognized, in part due to governmental censorship from the then-active military dictatorship of Brazil. Gomes is now celebrated as an artist who was at the forefront of Brazilian photography, and his art has been exhibited around the world in institutions such as LACMA, MoMA, the Getty Museum, and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Parts of his work are now also held in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, and the National Library of Brazil. Provenance Property of Dennis Forbes (Photographer, illustrator, and former art director of The Advocate, Vector, et al.), gifted directly from the artist in 1987. Condition Minor toning along the edge of the sheet of Photo No. 3, image unaffected. For further condition details or additional images, please contact info@vallots.com