Sergio Larrain. El vagabundo de Valparaíso
By Charlotte Stace
Sergio Larraín’s El vagabundo de Valparaíso | Chile brings you into the restless, poetic world of one of the most important Latin American street photographers of the 20th century. A member of Magnum Photos, Larraín (1931-2012) had a way of turning everyday scenes into something enigmatic, full of solitude, humour and beauty.
This exhibition gathers around 80 photographs taken in Chile, with a special focus on his celebrated Valparaíso series, developed from the late 1950s into the mid-1960s. Think steep hills, stairways and shadowy passages. In this way, it’s revealing the city through reflections, off-kilter angles and cinematic vistas.
Produced by Magnum Photos and curated by Agnès Sire (former director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson), the exhibition is both a deep dive into Valparaíso as a place and a masterclass in Larraín’s unique way of seeing and documenting surroundings.