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Carlos Diniz, Master of Architectural Illustration features nine extraordinary charcoal renderings of the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles created by the renowned architectural illustrator, Carlos Diniz, 1928-2001. Opened in 2003, the hall was decades in the planning and made possible through the generosity of the Disney family. The design of the iconic building, located among downtown LA’s lofty skyscrapers began in the late 1980s with a few spontaneous scribbles by architect Gehry. Well before any structure was built, renowned illustrator Carlos Diniz, combined Gehry’s conceptual sketches with drawings of the cityscape providing his clients and the city of Los Angeles a preview of what Gehry’s building would look like when finished. Rendered in charcoal and wash, Diniz’s masterful drawings harken back to a time when computer aided and virtual renderings were a fantasy. The skill of Diniz, and architects and illustrators like him, were all that was needed to create a recognizable view of the future. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a few limited edition reproductions of Gehry’s early conceptual sketches for the project.
About Carlos Diniz, American, 1928-2001:
Architectural Illustrator, Artist, and Graphic Designer Diniz is known for his work with many Pritzker, Gold Medal and pioneering architects of the 20th century. Diniz’s body of work encompasses many landmark and historic structures and developments the 1960’s through the 1980’s.
While a student at Beverly Hills High School, Diniz gained a local reputation for his expertise in constructing miniatures and models. His miniature guns, so perfectly scaled and complete that they could have fired, were the subject of a Los Angeles Times article in 1943.
Upon his discharge from the Army, Diniz enrolled at Art Center College of Design, with the intent of pursuing his other passion, automotive design, but a weeklong trip to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Architecture School and the influence of an instructor that commissioned him to produce illustrations of a Case Study House to be published in Arts & Architecture led to another direction. Along with his studies at Art Center, Diniz set about a self-education in Architecture. He graduated Art Center in 1950 with a degree in Specialized Design but found himself employed at various Architectural offices.
In 1957 Diniz opened his own studio, Carlos Diniz Associates Visual Communications and modeled its structure after an Architectural office. The studio was to focus on architectural presentation producing everything from drawings and paintings, logos, presentations, brochures, and marketing tools. The client roster quickly filled with well-established and upcoming architects including Welton Becket, Minoru Yamasaki, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Ladd & Kelsey and Victor Gruen.
Carlos Diniz Associates also became known for large scale “story-telling” illustrations. This was an important tool in the days before computer technology for developers to give viewers a feel for being in their unconstructed environment.
Throughout his career, Diniz built a client base of the largest and most prolific firms of the era. Many of his professional relationships, such as that with SOM, spanned decades. Diniz also did several projects for the Walt Disney Company, including work on Epcott Center at Disney World, Orlando, Tokyo Disney and Disney’s California Adventure.
Carlos Diniz was considered an integral part of American architecture and architectural presentation by his many clients, associates and peers. In 1993 he was awarded an Honorary AIA as a symbol of this accomplishment.
Sunday April 14th