In Conjunction with Le Corbusier Foundation

In addition to Richard’s work currently on view at Lumière in Epic Design . . . Ando & Le Corbusier, it is also on view in Paris France. Above and below are images of the installation in Maison La Roche. Additional information on the French exhibition can be found on the Le Corbusier Foundations Website, and in a post by the French on-line magazine, Eye On Photography (L’Œil de la Photographie).

Epic Design . . . Ando & Le Corbusier, has been extended until January 25, 2019

The UN’s cultural organization UNESCO, has designated seventeen works, by pioneering Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier as world heritage sites. The locations are spread across the globe in seven different countries. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Le Corbusier, Villa Savoye, © Richard Pare

Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites are a testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past. They were built over a period of a half-century, in the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research”. Included in the list are; the Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh (India), the Notre Dame du Haut chapel, Ronchamp (France), the House of Dr Curutchet in La Plata (Argentina), Villa Savoye, Poissy, (France) and the Unité d’habitation in Marseille (France). They reflect the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society. These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet. Complete details can be found on the UNESCO web site.

Architectural photographer Richard Pare has photographed the work of the Swiss modernist master, Le Corbusier for decades. Many of his photographs were featured in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA NY) in its 2013 exhibition and publication, “Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes”. These were also feature in the 2013 Lumière exhibition: Le Corbusier, An even wider selection can be seen on Richard Pare’s Artist Page, along with Pare’s work on early Modernist Architecture in the early years of the former USSR, (Lost Vanguard).

UPDATED August 18, 2014 – Moscow Times

In March, Richard Pare along with Jean-Louis Cohen drafted a petition to Vladimir Putin calling for preservation of the tower. They were able to get an impressive list of Pritzker Prize recipients to join the effort.

Reported 8/18/14 via Moscow Times. Moscow City Hall has formally prohibited the moving or reassembly of a Soviet architectural landmark that has been under threat of demolition.

The article concludes with a note of the tower’s status: City Hall’s order proposes including the tower on the federal list of protected heritage sites. Restoration work will be carried out on the tower with the new rules in mind, though no time frame has yet been determined, Izvestia reported Monday.

Below is an audio clip of Pare discussing the history, symbolism and significance of the tower. Additional information on the tower and protest efforts can be found at the Shukhov Tower Foundation.

Richard Pare comments on the Shabolovka Radio Tower

View earlier posts (April 2014) when demolition of the Shukhov Tower seemed likely.

August 14, 2014 – Moscow Times

The Moscow Times reports that: Moscow’s iconic Melnikov House has found itself embroiled in yet another property scandal following the forced eviction of the architect’s 75-year-old granddaughter.

The link above will take you to the article which provides details on the ongoing struggle by Melnikov’s descendants to preserve this remarkable structure for future generations.

Richard Pare photographed this iconic structure for the Lost Vanguard. The video clip to the right provides commentary and his thoughts on this famous building. (recorded 2009)

4:06 – video length

Richard Pare’s artist page
View 3-D renderings of the exterior and interior of the Melnikov House.

With the recent world spot light on Sochi Russia, it is worth mentioning Richard Pare’s photographs of the Voroshilov Sanatorium, built 1930-34 by the architect Miron Merzhanov. Many of you may have seen recent coverage of a later work by Merzhanov; Josef Stalin’s dacha. The brutal dictators residence, received significant media coverage during the Winter Olympics. (NPR & New York Times)

Below is a written excerpt and images from Pare’s book The Lost Vanguard (Russian Modernist Architecture 1922-1932) describing the structure that brought Merzhanov the prominence that caught Stalin’s attention.

Taking advantage of a spectacular hilltop site on the coast of the Black Sea at Sochi, the Voroshilov sanatorium is one of the most innovative and well executed of all the modernist works of the Soviet era. Still in good condition and little altered, the complex exudes a sense of well-being and airy transparency. Most of the guest rooms face the ocean and are provided with balconies protected by brises soleils. The main complex is connected to the ocean by a funicular railway. From 1933-41 Merzhanov became Stalin’s personal architect, perhaps a contributing factor in the exceptionally well-maintained state of the complex. – Richard Pare

To view the entire on-line exhibition: The Lost Vanguard
To view Richard Pare’s Artist Page

The work of Richard Pare will be opening on January 25, 2014 at CaixaForum in Barcelona, Spain. Richard’s photographs are an essential part of the Museum of Modern Art exhibition: Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes. The MoMA exhibition was on view in New York during the summer of 2013. The Barcelona exhibition will run until May 11, 2014, it will move to CaixaForum in Madrid Spain, from June 10 – October 9, 2014. More details can be found on the MoMA website.

More information on Richard’s work can be found on his Lumiere Artist Page, and the exhibition: Le Corbusier, as well as being featured in the THEME collection: Architecture.

Q&A: In photographing the work of master architect Le Corbusier,
Richard Pare breaks the mold.

October 29, 2013
By David Hamilton

Architectural photographer Richard Pare has made his mark translating the spirit of spatial experience into the confines of two dimensions. Perhaps best known for his extensive photographs of Soviet modernist architecture, Pare turned his attention to the architecture of Swiss modernist master Le Corbusier at the behest of the Museum of Modern Art for its recent exhibition “Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes” and the eponymous publication. Organized by architectural historian Jean-Louis Cohen, the exhibition and Pare’s photographs approach Le Corbusier’s buildings in a new way, presenting them not as objects but as figures in the landscape, a perspective that is bound to alter the way one thinks about his work. To read the interview please follow this link to the ArtsATL web page.

Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1929-30, (2012) © Richard Pare

Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935
April — July 2012
Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin Germany

Richard Pare’s photography from The Lost Vanguard (exhibited at Lumière in April of 2009), was on view at Martin Gropius Bau, in Berlin Germany, April 5 – July 9, 2012. For more specific information on this past exhibition, SELECT HERE.

The exhibition, Building The Revolution, came to Berlin directly from London’s Royal Academy of Art where it received numerous positive reviews; The Guardian, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, London Review of Books, Evening Standard, Oxford Times, London Confidential, to name just a few, (Oct 2011 – Jan 2012).

This exhibition explored one of the most exceptional periods in the history of architecture, from the years just prior to the October Revolution until the foundation of the U.S.S.R. First shown in 2007 at The Museum of Modern Art (NY), this work is an important contribution to the history of both photography and architecture. The flamboyant age of Russian modernity, in the 15 years following the October 1917 Revolution, was hardly recognized before it came to an abrupt end. After the fall of the communist experiment in 1991, structures employing modernist era design and construction methods were rapidly disappearing. In a short period of time nearly a quarter of the buildings that were to have been protected were razed or disfigured. Richard Pare, a master photographer and curator of architectural photography, developed this body of work to record these interior and exterior designs before they succumbed to redevelopment.

“Richard Pare’s (work) opens windows onto the substantially unknown architectural manifestations of a period characterized by unprecedented artistic, social and cultural flights of imagination.” – Phyllis Lambert, Founding Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture

A promotional video for the exhibition, (please note: audio is in German).

2:34 – video length
Richard Pare’s artist page

Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935
October 2011 – January 2012
London’s, Royal Academy of Arts – Sackler Wing of Galleries

Richard Pare’s work from The Lost Vanguard was previously on view at the Royal Academy of Arts. For more specific information on this past exhibition, SELECT HERE, a review from The Guardian can be SEEN HERE, (links open new windows).

Richard Pare comments on the Shabolovka Radio Tower

THE LOST VANGUARD – This exhibition explored one of the most exceptional periods in the history of architecture, from the years just prior to the October Revolution until the foundation of the U.S.S.R. First shown in 2007 at The Museum of Modern Art (NY), this work is an important contribution to the history of both photography and architecture. The flamboyant age of Russian modernity, in the 15 years following the October 1917 Revolution, was hardly recognized before it came to an abrupt end. After the fall of the communist experiment in 1991, structures employing modernist era design and construction methods were rapidly disappearing. In a short period of time nearly a quarter of the buildings that were to have been protected were razed or disfigured. Richard Pare, a master photographer and curator of architectural photography, developed this body of work to record these interior and exterior designs before they succumbed to redevelopment.

“Richard Pare’s (work) opens windows onto the substantially unknown architectural manifestations of a period characterized by unprecedented artistic, social and cultural flights of imagination.” – Phyllis Lambert, Founding Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture

The presentation included images from Pare’s Le Corbusier portfolio that was on view this past summer at the Museum of Modern Art – New York exhibition… Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes. The portfolio was made possible by a grant from the AVC foundation, Moscow, and was first presented at the Pushkin Museum, Le Corbusier: Creation and Secrets, from Painting to Architecture. It will also be featured at Fodacion La Caixa in Barcelona and Madrid (2014).

Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1929-30, (2012) © Richard Pare

Below is an excerpt of a review from the Creative Loafing.
To read the entire review please access the the Creative Loafing web site.

DATE: April 16, 2009
PUBLICATION: Creative Loafing
BYLINE: Jeremy Abernathy
TITLE: Photographer Contemplates a Lost Vanguard at Lumière

EXHIBITION : “Richard Pare – The Lost Vanguard”

Richard Pare became enamored with modernism at an early age. The son of an artist and teacher, Pare studied graphic design and photography in the U.K. before earning his MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago. During his 15 years at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, he amassed a sizable collection of architectural photography and, in the process, solidified artist contacts in Russia starting in the mid-’90s. Pare’s research on Russian modernism, architecture, and his photographs during numerous field trips abroad are the subject of his book, Lost Vanguard: Soviet Modernist Architecture, 1922-1932, as well as his newest photo exhibition at Lumière Gallery in Peachtree Hills. The opening reception is tonight, April 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

In his interview with World Socialist Web, Pare describes the process by which many buildings were constructed in Russia during the early 20th century: During fallow periods, in winter and the time between seedtime and harvest, peasants went into the cities to do construction work in what was an ongoing tradition long before the revolution. Contemporary photographs show scaffolding made up of great baulks of timber that is so cumbersome, and yet it is quite beautiful. What they did with such primitive means is amazing.

As techniques became more sophisticated, Russian architecture achieved a surprising variety and grace to rival the West. The photo above, which resembles Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous layout for the Guggenheim Museum, was actually “a communal house for officers of the Cheka (secret police), built as the result of a closed competition.” Viewed from above, the plan as a whole describes a hammer and sickle, extended “by a star motif in the reinforced concrete beams at the head of the staircase of the communal block.”