Gómez, Fina

Fina Gómez was a 20th-century photographer known for her photographic work primarily in France and Venezuela. Granddaughter of General Juan Vicente Gómez, who led the country between 1908 and 1935, she was born in the city of Maracay, Aragua State, and showed an early interest in the arts. In the late 1930s, she traveled to New York to learn and explore various photographic techniques, beginning her first works. After the start of World War II, she settled in Caracas, where she independently produced her own developments and prints under the guidance of Guillermo Zuluaga. Shortly afterward, she also set up her photography workshop in Paris, and in 1954 she published the book "Photographs," studying the lives of working children in France and Venezuela. Throughout her career, she explored different areas of photography, delving into the study of anthropomorphic forms, landscapes, objects, and the symbolism of outer space, spatial metaphors where chiaroscuro, textures, and movement uniquely marked most of her works. Her work also includes significant pioneering publications of photobooks such as "Las Piedras," with poems by Seghers, Paris, 1958; "0 Degrees," with texts by poet Ida Gramcko, 1964; and "Dialogue," also in collaboration with Seghers in 1965, among others. The Museum of Contemporary Art and the University of São Paulo include Fina Gómez's work in the book "40 Years of Artistic Photography in Venezuela," 1987, and "The Photographic Fact in Venezuela," 1998, achieving recognition for her work. She was also a great patron, especially of ceramic artists.