About Claudio Edinger
Claudio Edinger > About Claudio Edinger

Biography
Claudio Edinger was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1952 but raised in São Paulo. He began taking photographs in the early Seventies, while studying economics at Mackenzie University in São Paulo. In 1975 he had his first solo exhibition, at the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), with photographs of the Martinelli Building, a vertical slum in downtown São Paulo. The following year he moved to New York City, where he lived until 1996.
Over the course of 20 years spent in the United States, Edinger developed numerous personal photographic essays. He also worked as a freelance photographer for Brazilian and North American newspapers and magazines such as Veja, Time, Newsweek, Life, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine, among many others. In 1977, he studied under legendary photographer Philippe Halsman (1906–1979).

After two years spent living among Hassidic Jews in Brooklyn, Edinger had his first U.S. solo exhibition, Hassidic Jews, at the International Center of Photography in New York (1978). During his time in New York City, Edinger published three books: Chelsea Hotel (Abbeville Press, USA, 1983) and Venice Beach (Abbeville Press, USA, 1985) (both of which received the Leica Medal of Excellence), and The Making of Ironweed (Viking Press, USA, 1988). Edinger taught classes at Parson's School of Design/The New School (1979-1993), at the School of Visual Arts (1980-1982), and at the International Center of Photography (1992–1993).

In 1989 and 1990, Edinger photographed patients at the Juqueri Psychiatric Hospital in São Paulo, the largest insane asylum in Latin America. In order to better understand the depth of what occurs there, Edinger actually spent several weeks living among the patients housed there. The resulting work received the Ernst Haas Award and was published as Madness (DBA, Brazil; and Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK, 1997).

From 1991 to 1996, Edinger photographed carnaval in Brazil's five different regions: Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife/Olinda, São Paulo, and Paraty. The work was published as Carnaval (DBA, Brazil; and Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK, 1996) and won the Higashikawa Prize for Foreign Photographer of The Year (Japan) in 1999.

Between 1994 and 1996, Edinger photographed the old part of Havana, Cuba and published the resulting work as Old Havana (DBA, Brazil; DAP, USA; Dewi Lewis Publishing, UK; and Editions Stemmle, Switzerland, 1997), and named by American Photo as one of the best books of the year.

Claudio began working with a large format 4 x 5 camera and selective focus in 2000, and published Rio (DBA, Brazil, 2003 – named one of the best books of the year by Photo District News), and São Paulo: minha estranha cidade linda (DBA, Brazil and Umbrage Editions, USA, 2009), the latter from the same series of images as the exhibition São Paulo Ambiguous at 1500 Gallery.

Claudio's work is present in the largest and most important private photography collections in Brazil, as well as in the collections of the following: AT&T Photo Collection, The International Center of Photography (Cornell Capa's private collection – Hassidic Jews), Museu Metronòm (Barcelona), Equity International Photo Collection, Higashikawa Collection (Japan), Visa Pour L'Image (France), São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), São Paulo Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC-USP), São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM-SP), Museum of Images and Sound (São Paulo, Brazil), Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, (Brazil), Itaú Cultural (Brazil) and Curitiba Museum of Contemporary Art (Brazil).

Solo Exhibitions
2012De Bom Jesus a Milagres: o sertão da Bahia e a realidade inventada, Museu da Imagem e do Som, São Paulo, Brazil
2010São Paulo Ambiguous, 1500 Gallery, New York, NY
2009Paris, Espaço de Arte Trio, São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo: minha estranha cidade linda, Arte 57 Gallery, São Paulo
2008São Paulo, iContemporânea, São Paulo, Brazil
2007Flesh and Spirit, Arte 57 Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
Rio, iContemporânea, São Paulo, Brazil
2005Madness, iContemporânea, São Paulo, Brazil
2003Rio, Leica Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
Rio, Leica Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2001Cityscapes, Museu da Arte Modern, São Paulo, Brazil
2000Portraits, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1999Portraits, Li Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
Higashikawa Photography Festival, Japan
1997Carnaval, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1996Carnaval, Museu Metropolitano de Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil
Carnaval, Museum of Image and Sound, São Paulo, Brazil
1995Havana Velha, , Galeria Fotóptica, São Paulo, Brazil
1993Holy Land: India, Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, ME
1992Madness, Galeria Cândido Mendes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1991Madness, Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France
1990Fundação Romulo Majorana, Belém, Brazil
India, Madness, Hasidic Jews, Drew University, Madison, NJ
Madness, Galeria Fotóptica, São Paulo, Brazil
1988India, Galeria Fotóptica, São Paulo, Brazil
1984Venice Beach, Arco Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
1980Hasidic Jews, The New School/Parson's School of Design, New York, NY
1978Hasidic Jews, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
1975Martinelli Building, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Group Exhibitions
2012The Brazilian Lens, 1500 Gallery at Jumeirah Essex House, New York, NY
2012Eloge du vertige, Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris, France
2010SP Arte/Foto, São Paulo, Brazil
2009SP Arte/Foto, São Paulo, Brazil
2006SP Arte/Foto, São Paulo, Brazil
1995Fotografia Brasileira Contemporânea, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro Brazil
1991Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
1985Museu de Arte Contemporânea, São Paulo, Brazils
1983Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
The Photographers Gallery, London, United Kingdom
1976Museu de Arte de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil

Collections
AT&T Photo Collection, USA
Banco Itaú, Brazil
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brazil
Coleção Pirelli / MASP de Fotografia, Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil
Curitiba Museum of Contemporary Art, Curitiba, Brazil
Equity International Photo Collection, USA
Higashikawa Collection, Japan
International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil
Museu Metronòm, Barcelona, Spain
Museum of Images and Sound, São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM-SP), São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC-USP), São Paulo, Brazil
Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France

Published Books
2009Um Swami no Rio (novel), Annablume Editora (Brazil)
São Paulo: minha estranha cidade linda, DBA (Brazil) and Umbrage Editions (USA)
2006Flesh and Spirit, DBA (Brazil)
2003Rio, DBA (Brazil)
2001Cityscapes, DBA (Brazil)
2000Vitoria, ABooks (USA)
1999Portraits, DBA (Brazil)
1998São Paulo Under Construction. ABooks (USA)
1997Madness, DBA (Brazil), DAP (USA), Dewi Lewis Publishing (UK)
Old Havana, DBA (Brazil), DAP (USA), Dewi Lewis Publishing (UK), Editions Stemmle (Switzerland)
1996Carnaval, DBA (Brazil), Dewi Lewis Publishing (UK), DAP (USA)
1987The Making of Ironweed, Viking Press (USA)
1985Venice Beach, Abbeville Press (USA)
1983Chelsea Hotel, Abbeville Press (USA)

Awards
2010Prêmio Porto Seguro, O Sertão da Bahia
2009Best Photographic Book by Clix Magazine for São Paulo: minha estranha cidade linda
2007Prêmio Porto Seguro, São Paulo
2006PDN Photo Annual, One of the year's best books for Rio
2003PDN Photo Annual, One of the year's best personal projects for Rio
1999Best Foreign Photographer for Carnaval, Higashikawa Award, Japan
1997Japan Foundation Scholarship, Hong Kong Project
One of the year's best books by American Photo for Old Havana
1996Pictures of the Year: Best Photo in a Magazine by Newsweek
1993Vitae Foundation Scholarship, Brazilian Carnaval
1990Ernst Haas Award for Madness
1989Life Magazine Award for Madness
Finalist of W. Eugene Smith Grant
1985Leica Medal of Excellence for Venice Beach
1983Leica Medal of Excellence for Chelsea Hotel

Teaching and Lecturing
2010Paraty em Foco Workshop, Paraty, Brazil
2009Paraty em Foco Workshop, Paraty, Brazil
2008Paraty em Foco Workshop, Paraty, Brazil
2007Paraty em Foco Workshop, Paraty, Brazil
2001Senac Photography College lecture, São Paulo, Brazil
2000Senac Photography College lecture, São Paulo, Brazil
1999O Globo workshop, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1998Editora Abril workshop, São Paulo, Brazil
Centro Maria de Andrade workshop, São Paulo, Brazil
1997International Center of Photography lecture, New York, NY
1995Barnstorm, The Eddie Adams Workshop, Hackensack, NJ
Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, ME
1993Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, ME
92-93International Center of Photography, New York, NY
1990Drew University lecture, Madison, NJ
1988São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil
80-82School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
79-93Teacher at Parson's School of Design/The New School, New York, NY

Editorial Credits
Art News, American Photo, Business Week, Bons Fluidos, Boston Globe, Bravo, Claudia, Conde Nast Traveler, Details, Elle, Epoca, Estado de São Paulo, Folha de São Paulo, Forbes, Fortune, Fotosite, Fotografe Melhor, Isto É, Life, Los Angeles Times, Marie Claire, Money, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Photo France, Photo Italy, Photo District News, Paris Match, People, Playboy, República, Rolling Stone, Self, The Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, Stern, Time, Town & Country, Travel & Leisure, USA Today, US, US News, Valor, Vanity Fair, Veja, Washington Post

Claudio Edinger > About Claudio Edinger