David Leventi

"Copsa Mica is best known as one of the most polluted towns in Europe and thus made the front cover of National Geographic in June 1991. It was home to a Carbosin factory that produced a very visible black powder used as a coloring in the production of rubber, and a Sometra metallurgical factory (attached) that heavily polluted the air with invisible toxic fumes leaving a constant stench/taste of sulfuric acid. Together they spewed out 30,000 tons of particles and soot each year. The communist party considered the Sometra factory crucial to the national economy and did not export its products. The chimney is considered one of the tallest structures in Romania at 250 meters tall. Environmentalism had no impact here." - David Leventi

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David Leventi is an American contemporary photographer renowned for his monumental architectural studies of historic opera houses and performance spaces around the world. Working with large-format 4x5 and 8x10 Arca-Swiss cameras, Leventi captures extraordinary levels of detail, transforming grand interiors into immersive visual experiences that celebrate architectural heritage, symmetry, and cultural memory.

Leventi’s work focuses primarily on opera houses; spaces that embody both artistic grandeur and historical significance. Through precise composition and masterful control of perspective and light, he reveals the intricate ornamentation, gilded details, and theatrical atmosphere of these iconic venues. The resulting images elevate architectural photography into a form of visual preservation, documenting cultural landmarks with both reverence and cinematic scale.

Each composition is meticulously crafted to emphasize depth, scale, and formal balance, allowing viewers to experience these interiors as both architectural spaces and emotional environments. His photographs are presented with photographic paper borders and mounted to archival aluminum substrates, ensuring both archival stability and pristine visual clarity.

Leventi's photographs have been widely published in TIME, The New York Times Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, FT Weekend Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, among others, and his work can be found in private and public collections including The Sir Elton John Collection and The Cleveland Museum of Art. 

Large-scale editions (72 x 90 inches) are offered in contemporary frameless aluminum-mounted presentations or framed in white. Medium-scale editions (40 x 50 and 50 x 60 inches) are presented in white frames.