Framing Structure Piotr Hraptovich 4—13
Triptychs Leandro Villalba 16—25
Oblago Raphael Kadid 28—31
Despite their seemingly imposing scale, buildings and other infrastructure such as roads, bridges and grids are but dots against the backdrop of nature. Yet, no matter how well they are integrated, these man-made structures will inherently be in contrast with their natural context, not least due to the straight lines they necessitate in the majority of cases – a strict kind of verticality and horizontality nature refuses to provide.
Scale plays a crucial role in this series, which depicts structures ranging from an intimate domestic space to a mile-long highway bridge. The difference in their actual scale is implied by the strong horizontality and verticality of columns and beams running off the photographs’ pictorial compositions. Yet, within the space of the photographs, the structures share a similar monumentality. By developing a unique middle ground between a contextual photograph and a detail shot, the series experiments with the fine line between reality and abstraction in architectural photography.
Triptychs (from the Greek «triptukhon» («three-fold») first appeared in early Christian medieval culture as a very popular form of art. Mostly made to be altar paintings, they presented a sequence of three biblical scenes with the intention of educating the Laity on key Christian values. Greed, sin, self-destruction, faith, sacrifice or the afterlife were recurring topics painted across centuries by multiple artists.
Since 2017, Leandro Villalba has been travelling around Western Europe photographing singular architectures and documenting their current time-worn condition. His lightweight 35 mm SLR analog camera, paired with a 50 mm lens, is contemporary to many of the spaces he captures and allows for a special proximity in his shots. This specific equipment and process has generated a visual universe filled with nostalgia, intimacy and momentariness.
Much like in the medieval tryptic altarpieces, this collection of three-fold photo series not only reveals aesthetic affinities but also conveys abstract concepts. Through the juxtaposition of originally independent images the artist evokes universal notions of domesticity, absence, light, rigor, faith or nature.
Leandro Villaba’s photographic archive includes the works of architects such as Atelier 5, Otto Glaus, Ernst Gisel, Angelo Mangiarotti, Livio Vacchini or Giuseppe Terragni among others.
Oblago—Extended is a floor lamp inspired by primitive architecture and neo- futurist concepts.Its design is the result of a research on ellipsoid geometries, shapes nearly impossible to achieve by hand, but where contemporary machining techniques have no difficulties. The columns are made by turning, whereas the body of the lamp is made by the carving of a single block of aluminum to its limits — at the tangent between inner and outer shell, only 1 mm wall thickness remains. To provide stability, the four massive columns are expanding their geometries outside the body’s perimeter, allowing a wider ground contact. The arrangement of the columns and the lamp’s proportions are purposely ambiguous. While the ratio between columns and body relates to the timeless architecture of the dolmens, their position refers to the figure of a trotting horse, bringing motion in the composition, and a certain sense of animality. The name Oblago is a homage to the American industrial designer Syd Mead, and his book Oblagon, published in 1996.
Framing Structure
Piotr HraptovichMillau Viaduct, 2019 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Nantes School of Architecture, 2019 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Framing Structure
Piotr Hraptovich
Museo la Congiunta, 2019 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Framing Structure
Ganterbrücke, 2020 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Framing Structure
Piotr Hraptovich
Helvetia Campus, 2022 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Framing Structure
Piotr Hraptovich
House in Vermes, 2022 110 x 135 cm print, signed
Framing Structure
Piotr HraptovichPrice upon request
Limited edition chromogenic print (C-print) available upon request
Triptychs Leandro Villalba
Birth I
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Birth II
Lambda c-type print, titled Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
titled and signed on reverse. steel.
Birth III
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Triptychs Leandro Villalba
Stone I
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
Stone II
Lambda c-type print, titled Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
titled and signed on reverse. steel.
Stone III
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
Triptychs Leandro Villalba
Cross I
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
Cross II
Lambda c-type print, titled Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
titled and signed on reverse. steel. cm.
Cross III
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 86.1 cm x 75 cm x 6 cm.
Triptychs Leandro Villalba
Departure I
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Departure II
Lambda c-type print, titled Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
titled and signed on reverse. steel. cm.
Departure III
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Triptychs Leandro Villalba
Veil I
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Veil II
Lambda c-type print, titled Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
titled and signed on reverse. steel. cm.
Veil III
Lambda c-type print, titled and signed on reverse. Glass, beech, stainless steel. 61.4 cm x 99.6 cm x 6 cm.
Triptychs
Leandro Villalba
Each photograph can be acquired separately. Reprint upon request, up to a limited edition of fifteen copies.
Curated by Albert Palazon.
Piotr Hraptovich is a self-taught photographer focusing on architecture, and generally, infrastructure. He is an advocate of analog photography and works exclusively with film. After completion of his studies in architecture, Piotr collaborated on world-renowned projects of various typologies at Herzog & de Meuron. During this time, architectural photography became the way of (re-)discovering and studying the built environment; doing so through the camera’s lens intensified this process, where heightened attention is given to details, textures, materials, light, forms, effects and context. Through this meticulous form of seeing, Piotr attempts to define a unique language specific to place and time.
Leandro Villalba is an architect and self-taught photographer based in Basel. Since 2017 he has collaborated with leading Swiss firms such as Christ & Gantenbein and Buchner Bründler. Parallel to his professional experience, he has developed his photographic skills focusing on portraying remarkable architecture of the 20th century with analogue techniques. This experience adds to his education in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he graduated as an architect in 2012. At that time, he won first prize for designing a summer residence in Punta del Este, a project that was successfully built a year later. In 2014 he participated in the Uruguayan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale -- his essay Grutas y Psicodelia being part of the accompanying exhibition publication. More recently, his photographs were included in the book Casa Kalman - Luigi Snozzi, the result of a collaboration with Prof. Dr. Harald R. Stühlinger and the publisher Christoph Merian.
Raphael Kadid is a French architect and designer based in Switzerland, practicing in the field of architecture, product design, photography and edition. After graduating from the École d’Architecture de la Ville & des Territoires Paris-Est in 2012, he trained as an architect in the offices of Diener & Diener and Buchner Bründler in Basel. Since 2021, Raphael Kadid has been working as an independent architect in various collaborations. Alongside his practice, he runs the art and architecture newsletter Daily Dose, and directs Raphael Kadid Objects, his eponymous design studio founded in 2020 in Basel.
Graphic design Bosco Ferreira, Raphael Kadid Music Timon Sutter Translations Jan Zachmann Carpentry Kaspar Fridolin von Looser Mounting Selin Holder
Piotr Hraptovich Müllheimerstrasse 138 CH-4057, Basel piotr@hraptovich.com www.hraptovich.com
Leandro Villalba Voltastrasse 72 CH-4056, Basel leandrovillalbasilva@gmail.com instagram.com/leapedranzini
Raphael Kadid Studio Am Krayenrain 27 CH-4056, Basel contact@raphaelkadid.com www.raphaelkadid.com