António Sena da Silva
Portugal
António Sena da Silva (Lisbon, 1926) was an architect trained at the Escola Superior de Belas-Artes de Lisboa. In architecture, he stood out for his interest in designing ephemeral structures for industrial fairs and exhibitions, as well as in the conception of school buildings. He is recognised as a significant figure in Portuguese design, not only for his practical contributions but also for his theoretical work, which played a key role in establishing design as a discipline in Portugal.
He began photographing for functional purposes, documenting defective truck engine parts in the late 1940s to illustrate technical reports for the company A.A. Silva / Autosil. In 1956 and 1957, his growing interest in photography led him to develop a series on Lisbon intended for publication by Guilde du Livre in Switzerland, a project that ultimately did not materialize. In later years, he applied photographic imagery to book cover designs for Ulisseia Publishing House.
Photography remained a central focus of his creative pursuits in the following decades, though it received little public recognition until the exhibition Fotografias, 1956/57, hosted by Galeria Ether in Lisbon (1987). His photographic work was revisited in the retrospective exhibition Sena da Silva – Uma Retrospetiva, accompanied by a catalogue and produced by the Serralves Foundation in Porto (1990).
He began photographing for functional purposes, documenting defective truck engine parts in the late 1940s to illustrate technical reports for the company A.A. Silva / Autosil. In 1956 and 1957, his growing interest in photography led him to develop a series on Lisbon intended for publication by Guilde du Livre in Switzerland, a project that ultimately did not materialize. In later years, he applied photographic imagery to book cover designs for Ulisseia Publishing House.
Photography remained a central focus of his creative pursuits in the following decades, though it received little public recognition until the exhibition Fotografias, 1956/57, hosted by Galeria Ether in Lisbon (1987). His photographic work was revisited in the retrospective exhibition Sena da Silva – Uma Retrospetiva, accompanied by a catalogue and produced by the Serralves Foundation in Porto (1990).
