Photographer who recorded the transformation of Real Vinícola
Photographer who recorded the transformation of Real Vinícola passed away on the 10th of July, at the age of 84, Luís Ferreira Alves, a photographer who became famous for his work in architectural photography.
Born in Valadares, Vila Nova de Gaia, in 1938, Luís Ferreira Alves was passionate about cinema, having been an active section of Cineclube do Porto in the 1950s and co-founder of the Reduced Format and Experimental Cinema Section. He was part of the team that made the documentary “Auto da Floripes”.
In 1962, he was arrested by the PIDE and tried in the Plenary Court of Porto, having been compulsively removed from Banco Ferreira Alves & Pinto Leite, where he had until then worked with his father. He then carried out a wide range of commercial activities that left him little time for his personal projects.
In the early 80's he resumed, as an amateur, an intense photographic activity. He presented at Árvore the exhibition “Fotografia de Cena”, in collaboration with Gabriela Ribeiro on independent theatre, where he also later exhibited a large series of images on the theme of urban destruction in the city of Porto – “In search of lost color”.
In 1983, he was invited by his architect friend Pedro Ramalho to present a slideshow on his architectural work at a seminar at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto. This was the starting point for his activity as a professional photographer.
He specializes in architectural, heritage and territory photography and has been regularly published in magazines around the world. He collaborated closely with architects from the so-called Escola do Porto, namely Eduardo Souto Moura.
A director of architecture and cultural videos, he has edited dozens of books and held numerous exhibitions, some of them co-authored, inside and outside the country.
Of the works he portrayed, we highlight the registration of the Real Vinícola, in Matosinhos, from its state in ruins, through its rehabilitation by the municipality, until its transformation into Casa da Arquitetura – Centro Português de Arquitetura.
In 2018, the Municipality of Matosinhos edited the book and promoted the exhibition “Real Vinícola Uma Reconvisão”, at the Municipal Gallery of Matosinhos, curated by the architect Guilherme Machado Vaz.
At Casa da Arquitetura, he presented, last year, the book and the exhibition “Peroguarda 58/59: Fotografia”. With an exhibition project by Eduardo Souto de Moura, the exhibition featured 37 photographs captured by the young Luís Ferreira Alves in the Alentejo town of Peroguarda, in the 58th and 59th of the last century.
In November 2021, the photographer donated his entire estate to Casa da Arquitetura.
As for distinctions, he was awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Ordem dos Arquitetos (2013) and the Municipal Medal of Merit – Gold Degree by the Porto Chamber (2015).
On October 31, 2021, he received, from the hands of the then Minister of Culture, Graça Fonseca, the Medal of Cultural Merit, in a ceremony that took place at the Casa da Arquitetura.
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