Carlos
Spaventa is a New York born photographer specializing in photographs
of Paris and the French countryside. His photographs of France have been
widely exhibited and published for more than 25 years. His subjects include architectural details and evocative scenes of life in France and things French - the bridges and gardens of Paris, the bicycles, bistros, boulangeries, florists and food markets as well as the shops of Paris, the farm-houses of Provence and the “warm stones” architecture of the south of France.
Of Cuban-Argentine parents - his father was the tango singer of the same name - Spaventa grew up within walking distance of The Museum of Modern Art at the time of the celebrated Family of Man exhibition, a milestone in the history of photography. That formative experience inspired a life long interest in photography. His early enthusiasm was further nourished by an uncle of his who was well known as a photographer in Havana where Spaventa would spend childhood summers in the 1950’s with his maternal grandparents.
His first visit to Paris was ‘en route’ to Madrid for his freshman year of college. There he was introduced to the visual riches of Europe. The cafes, gardens and architecture of Paris and Madrid recalled their counterparts in the Havana of his childhood. An early admirer of the work of Atget, Brassai and Cartier Bresson, he was particularly influenced by the work of Kertesz whom he had the privilege of meeting on two occasions in New York. Unlike the aforementioned photographers, however, Spaventa’s photographs are in color (think a “Cuban-American in Paris”), and as such less formal and more sensuous.
Copyright © 2004 Carlos Spaventa