Painted Buildings

Across the buildings of Mexico’s capital, a swell of architectural diversity unfolds––history side-by-side with modernity, and artistic influence diffused throughout. In Untitled (Blue), 2024, the cobalt blue of a building's facade merges with a navy sky, and yet, the weathered structure’s protruding vents and wired antennae clash against the monochrome background and allude to a city beyond the image. The shot is one of seven prints which make-up Adrian Gaut’s newly released collection for Design Within Reach (DWR). 

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Throughout the marketplace’s first commissioned artwork, prints in various sizes represent a convergence of architecture and painting––a duality that speaks to Mexico City’s visual identity as well as the photographer’s diverse portfolio. Before embarking on his multifarious career as a traveling commercial photographer, Gaut, a trained painter, began capturing architectural facades in high school. He was drawn to both the brutalist imagery of the factory buildings in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, as well as the minimalism of 20th century painting. Over the years, he has expanded into the realms of interior design, still lifes, and portraits—and yet architecture remains the crux of his photography.

In Untitled (Red & White), 2024, the eroded concrete of a building’s frontage is crimson and streaked with black electricity cables. The sun glints off the side of a concrete railing and coats the right side of the image like a yellow paintbrush, defining another facade of the building. Akin to the rest of the collection, Gaut’s accentuation of natural light combined with his attention to architectural detail creates an illusory scene defined by abstract dimensions and saturated hues.

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Each photograph presents as a deeply colored painting––look at them too quickly or too long, and deceptive contrasts of color and structure lead you to forget their photographic medium. It is this artistic sensibility that diverges from Gaut’s previous seasonal design campaigns with DWR. This latest collection brings together new places and old roots with intimate shots that submerge the viewer in chroma, texture, and topography, inspiring wonder about the streets bustling beyond the frame.

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‍The Adrian Gaut Collection for DWR Collection is available now online.

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