Behind the lens

Through a critical and highly perfectionist eye, photographer Xavier Verstraeten has managed to depict breathtaking images in his photographic endeavor, the city of Buenos Aires with its overwhelming architecture and fine taste in detail.

After many years devoted to photography, the work of this artist reveals a combination of balance and dedication deployed in each of his images. He is one of the most prestigious publisher of the River Plate regarding custom publishing and Coffee Table Books.

He completed his studies in 1982 at Brooks Institute of Photography in the United States, where he graduated with honors in Industrial Scientific Photographic Technology. During the next 7 years, he worked with art directors and photographers in London and New York, making productions for British Leyland, House & Garden, Architectural Digest and The New York Times.

By 1990 he was in charge of the photography and the advertising division of D&D magazine. His work was focused with local and foreign publishing companies, amongst others, Elle, Veranda, A&D, Sojourn and the books Estancias Argentinas, Cafés de Buenos Aires and Mesas de Buenos Aires. During this period he developed works for the Secretariat of Agriculture, Du-Pont Argentina, Betchel and Fletcher Challenge Ltd.

In 1994 he founded his own publishing company, Ediciones Veratraeten, where he started publishing books of an aesthetic and visual nature. La Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Golf, Courses & Links of Argentina, Ponchos de las Tierras del Plata, La Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, Mar del Plata Golf Club, Buenos Aires Architectural Heritage, Discovering the Classic Interiors of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Art Nouveau, and Buenos Aires Art Déco. He is presently developing a book for the bicentennial festivities of 2010, "Argentina, Cultural and Natural Heritage", that will be launched on November 12th 2008.

Interview for Room Service Magazine