Oscar Niemeyer
A defining figure of Latin American modernism, known for curved concrete and the civic architecture of Brasília.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Niemeyer worked through an exceptionally long career and gained worldwide recognition through the public buildings of Brazil’s new capital.
The Cathedral of Brasília wraps a circular sanctuary in hyperbolic columns, making curved concrete a civic landmark.
The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum places a saucer-like mass above Guanabara Bay, poised between landscape and sculpture.
He emphasized free curves against rectilinear modernism. The force of his architectural image matched a life marked by politics, exile, and longevity.
He impressed the sculptural potential of concrete on a broad public and became a principal name in Latin American modernism.
