25/09/2026
In the early 1970s, a simple gesture transformed the history of documentary photography: Lelia Wanick Salgado gave her husband, Sebastião Salgado, the book *Vanishing Africa* by Kenyan-Italian photographer Mirella Ricciardi. The power of the images was so profound that Salgado abandoned his career as an economist to dedicate himself entirely to photography. Decades later, having achieved renown, he received an unexpected phone call from Ricciardi herself—an encounter that cemented a mutual admiration and an aesthetic affinity that would span both their lives.
In Mirella’s words: “Since I never spoke with Sebastião about what specifically drew him to my work, I am going to remedy that now. I am a great admirer of his images and am deeply honored by his interest in my work—and by the fact that I may have influenced him in some way. He said that my photos had a feminine touch, in contrast to the masculine touch of his own. It was wonderful to hear from him how my vision affected his and changed his life—taking him from economist to photographer. I believe we have both created influential bodies of work.”
It is from this meeting point that *A Elegância do Olhar* (The Elegance of the Gaze) was born. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Mario Cohen Gallery, the exhibition marks a return to the gallery’s roots by proposing a visual dialogue between Salgado’s book *Amazônia* and Ricciardi’s *Vanishing Africa*. The show brings together 17 images—some by Mirella Ricciardi never before seen in Brazil—that reveal the dignity, strength, nobility, and natural sophistication of Amazonian peoples and African communities through the lenses of two of the greatest names in global photography. “Although their visual languages converge in many respects, each photographer’s distinct identity remains evident. Here, we wish to highlight their similarities—specifically, the sensitivity both show in illuminating the genuine elegance that emanates from the natural world and the people they portray, whether through a gesture, an adornment, or an individual’s relationship with their territory,” writes Lilian Pace in her curatorial text for the exhibition.
The Marubo girl sitting on a ceramic pot in the Amazon rainforest possesses the same majesty as the Turkana woman balancing a wooden gourd on her head while walking across the desert in search of water. In both instances, this elegance is not manufactured; it is revealed, for it is entirely natural.
In Salgado’s makeshift forest studios, the subject is not merely an object of the gaze; they claim the camera as a space for self-assertion. In Ricciardi’s images, meanwhile, an intimate connection with the land transforms every gesture into a narrative.
Both photographers’ compositions flirt with the aesthetics of fashion editorials—not to turn their subjects into models, but to highlight a sophistication that was already present in the way they walk, adorn themselves, and simply exist. More than mere records of cultures in transition, the images gathered in *A Elegância do Olhar* (The Elegance of the Gaze) celebrate the strength and beauty of these presences.
Mario Cohen marks the gallery’s 25th anniversary by tracing a timeline from its inception to the present day: “In 2001, I utilized a small space on the lower level of my newly opened office in Copacabana to fulfill a long-held dream: opening a gallery dedicated to photography as an art form. Thus, ‘Pequena Galeria 18’ was born, guided by the belief that fashion is, above all, elegance. Twenty-five years later—now based in São Paulo and with a different kind of maturity—I understand the complexities of being a gallerist, especially when one chooses to focus on a single theme within the vast universe of imagery.” "Today, with the *Elegância do Olhar* [Elegance of the Gaze] exhibition, I realize that we never lost our focus. This show fully embodies what we have always sought: true elegance."
Exhibition: *A Elegância do Olhar*
Artists: Sebastião Salgado and Mirella Ricciardi
Curator: Lilian Pacce
Venue: Galeria Mario Cohen | Address: Rua Cap. Francisco Padilha, 69 – Jardim Europa – São Paulo.
Dates: September 29 to November 11.
Hours: Tuesdays through Thursdays, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM; Fridays, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM; Saturdays, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
