Installation views, Latintudes: A Collection of Latin American Modernism, photography by Leonardo Finotti, curated by Michelle Jean de Castro. Graham Foundation, Chicago, 2026. Photos by Nathan Keay

Finotti’s photographs are presented as monochrome prints on aluminum composite panels, for which a contemporary digital process has been used to simulate the rich tones and smooth surfaces of gelatin silver printing. The installation consists of 119 images in six sizes ranging roughly from 8-by-11-inches to 26-by-37-inches, all framed in Brazilian walnut. These are organized in a horizontal continuum that runs through the handsomely detailed rooms of Madlener House, the Prairie Style mansion where the Graham Foundation is located on Chicago’s Near North Side. Beyond one introductory panel of text, there are no labels. This provides a refreshing absence of visual clutter and curatorial word salad. A cleverly—and clearly—designed pamphlet, which follows the numerical sequencing of the photos’ linear arrangement, makes wayfinding and identification easy.

Installation views, Latintudes: A Collection of Latin American Modernism, photography by Leonardo Finotti, curated by Michelle Jean de Castro. Graham Foundation, Chicago, 2026. Photos by Nathan Keay

The exhibit includes residential, commercial, religious, civic, and academic buildings completed between 1928 and 1982. The usual marquee names—Luis Barragán, Lina Bo Bardi, Félix Candela, Ricardo Legorreta, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Oscar Niemeyer, and Juan O'Gorman—are well represented, as are many less well-known practitioners.

Escuela de Ballet del ISA (Ballet School, Instituto Superior de Arte), Havana, Cuba, designed by Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti, and Roberto Gottardi, 1961–65. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti, 2014. © Leonardo Finotti

Parque Central, Caracas, Venezuela, designed by Daniel Fernández-Shaw and Henrique Siso Maury, with landscape design by Roberto Burle Marx, 1969–73. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti, 2013. © Leonardo Finotti

The quality of the photographs is consistently fine, even though the quality of the buildings they portray varies. Standouts include Facultad de Arquitectura (1938–46) by Román Fresnedo Siri and Mario Muccinelli in Montevideo and Planetario Galileo (1962–64) by Enrique Jan and Carlos Laugier in Buenos Aires, along with SESC Pompéia (1977–82) by Lina Bo Bardi and Edificio Copan (1951–66) by Oscar Niemeyer and Carlos Lemos, both in São Paulo. Also noteworthy, and more familiar to northern eyes, are Casa Estudio de Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo (1931–32) by Juan O’Gorman and Casa Barragán (1948) by Luis Barragán, both in Mexico City. One especially dramatic shot is Torres del Parque (1964–74) by Rogelio Salmona in Bogotá, where two sculptural high-rises loom large above an old bullfighting ring.

Marquise do Ibirapuera (Ibirapuera Park Marquise), São Paulo, Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, 1951–54. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti, 2014. © Leonardo Finotti

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SESC Pompéia, São Paulo, Brazil, designed by Lina Bo Bardi, 1977–82. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti, 2013 (1); Torres del Parque (Park Towers), Bogotá, Colombia, designed by Rogelio Salmona, 1964–70. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti, 2014 (2). © Leonardo Finotti

The exhibition coincides with the release of A Collection of Latin American Modern Architecture, Volume 2 (Lars Müller Publishers, 2025), the second in a three-volume series.

Latinitudes: A Collection of Latin American Modern Architecture is on view at the Graham Foundation through July 18.