Clorindo Testa (1923–2013) was born in Naples, Italy, and just a few months later arrived in Argentina with his family. He grew up in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. After brief and unsuccessful attempts at studying Naval and Civil Engineering, he discovered his true passion in Architecture, graduating in 1947 from the University of Buenos Aires. He was inspired by the ideas of Le Corbusier, the only architect he acknowledged as an influential figure in his architectural thinking.

In 1951, he joined the Urban Planning Department of the Buenos Aires City Government. That same year, along with Boris Dabinovic, Augusto Gaido, and Francisco Rossi, he won the competition to design the headquarters of the Argentine Chamber of Construction—his first built work.

The year 1952 marked a turning point in his career, as he held his first solo art exhibition at Galería Van Riel, thus beginning his dual professional path: both artist and architect.

He married Teresa Bortagaray in 1962, and they spent their honeymoon in India and Europe—destinations he would regularly revisit every two or three years to see relatives and friends. Their daughter Joaquina was born in 1969.

Throughout his career, he designed both public and private buildings, incorporating the distinctive elements of his architectural style: the use of exposed concrete, primary colors, and pure geometric forms. Among his most iconic works are the Bank of London and South America (now Banco Hipotecario) and the National Library of Argentina—both considered paradigmatic examples of Brutalist architecture in the region.

In the following decades, he continued to carry out major projects such as the Central Naval Hospital—whose design reflects his passion for ships—and other emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires’ urban landscape, including the Paseo del Pilar (now Buenos Aires Design), the auditorium of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist Center, and the Museum of the Book.

A portion of his work was devoted to designing private residences, both within and beyond the boundaries of the capital, always maintaining a distinctive and recognizable style.

His visual art was inseparable from his architectural work: his entire output was shaped by ongoing reflections on themes such as large cities and living conditions in urban environments.

In 1957, he joined the Group of Seven Abstract Painters, later associated with Revista Boa, and from 1958 he collaborated with the Group of Five. In 1975, he became an active member of the Group of Thirteen at the CAyC (Center for Art and Communication), with whom he regularly exhibited until 1994. From then on, he frequently showed his work in galleries and museums across Argentina, both individually and as part of group exhibitions, as well as in national and international biennials.

Among his most notable series are: Compositions in Black and White, The Plague in Ceppaloni, Measurements, Screams, Blocks of Buenos Aires, and Grids.

His works are part of numerous public and private collections, including: the Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Art Collection (Buenos Aires), the Argentine Foreign Ministry Collection (Buenos Aires), the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), the National Endowment for the Arts (Buenos Aires), the Museum of Modern Art (MAMBA), the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA), and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, among others.

He passed away in Buenos Aires on April 11, 2013.