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ARTE

An icon of the photographic world of him. Until his farewell, this scholar was
the eighties and nineties, Beaufrand rein- elegantly silent.
vented his style over time. He was always His legacy dates back to his begin-
in tune with the moment he his time to nings in the 1980s. It was a time of cul-
interpret, through his images. tural renaissance, when fashion and art
This famous photographer will fo- were "in crescendo" merging together, gi-
rever be a legend and a reference in ving a formal delight to his development
the photographic record of Venezuelan in the world of photography.
fashion. For Beaufrand, fashion was more
Born in Maracaibo, his career began than superficial; it was serious. His phi-
FASHION MOURNS to flourish at a very early age, and over losophy, his body language, his DNA, im-
THE MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY, the years he became one of the most res- mediately connected us with the premise
FRAN BEAUFRAND pected and recognized fashion photogra- that the elegance he exuded had nothing
On a silent Sunday and a particularly phers inside and outside our country. to do with status or a million-dollar bank
tense calm, I heard the unfortunate news: The DNA of his images transcended account. It was his own natural elegance,
"Fran Beaufrand passed away". I couldn't conventional limits. Each of his projects something inborn.
believe it. I immediately remembered all ended up becoming a work of art. One of his latest projects was a colla-
the fortunate and privileged encounters I Beaufrand's way of looking was like borative work with the accredited photo-
had with him. A man impeccable with his that of a detective; a diligent resear- grapher Aarón Martínez. This work was
words, simple and elegant; the most edu- cher and investigator pending detail, in exhibited at Galería GBG Arts, in Cara-
cated eye in Venezuela. which the click of his camera was the cas. Undoubtedly one of my favorites. In
Fran Beaufrand studied at the Cristo- only witness. this work, Beaufrand experimented with
bal Rojas Institute, at the School of Arts For the master Fran Beaufrand it was layering and his own vision of contem-
of the Central University of Venezuela important to make his images, through porary fashion. His central theme always
(UCV), and graphic design at the Neu- studio work, the construction of the sce- connected to that quest to propose a time-
mann Institute. In 1990 he managed to ne, the introspective gaze of his educated less style and an always clean and impec-
conquer New York, collaborating with the eye. Beaufrand was concerned about the cable aesthetic.
firm Halston. In Venezuela he has always documentary style photography had be- His legacy endures over time through
been the favorite photographer of desig- come accustomed to. He did not want to his masterful images.
ners such as Ángel Sánchez and Margarita follow that pattern, he explained it bri- It will be very difficult to fill the void
Zingg, among others. lliantly in his book. He was a visionary. left by our admired Fran Beaufrand. His
His gaze was always beyond any other Fran Beaufrand had the ability to take work will remain forever in the memory
gaze. His canon of beauty was totally ele- on the challenge of working on campaig- of the new generations as an obligatory
vated. Beaufrand sought the beauty of the ns, both commercial and artistic, always reference.
not so obvious, the beauty in the rare, in leaving his stamp of natural elegance. There will always be a special place
the different and not in the "perfect". His The term "silent luxury" is very fashio- for his memory. His imprint will be inde-
eye led straight to what no one else had nable, and if we had to describe Fran in lible in the art and fashion industry.
the sensitivity to see. two words, they would be very much like

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