Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

In his introductory essay, Frederico Morais identifies the basic criteria underpinning the three retrospective exhibitions that were presented as part of the Ciclo de exposições sobre arte no Rio de Janeiro (1984). He briefly discusses [...]

This essay by the Brazilian art critic Wilson Coutinho appeared in the catalogue for the exhibition Ciclo de exposições sobre arte no Rio de Janeiro: 1. Neoconcretismo (Rio de Janeiro: Galeria de Arte BANERJ, 1984). The essay outlines [...]

In this essay, Ferreira Gullar describes the context in which the Neo-Concrete art movement was created by artists in Rio de Janeiro. He outlines the movement’s evolution as he identifies key developments in its history, such as the series [...]

In this essay, written for the paradigmatic exhibition Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte, Roberto Pontual discusses the survival of the Neo-Concrete art movement that existed “officially” for “a little less than two years, from [...]

In this essay Ronaldo Brito discusses Brazilian Constructivism as an integral part of an “organized cultural strategy” that was in effect from the 1940s to the 1960s and was closely aligned with “the country’s social and [...]

Frederico Morais uses an extremely long title to provide a précis of his essay. But it only complicates the simplified narratives of a movement—whose embrace of doctrinaire Constructivism was followed by a critical rift between Concrete [...]

Ferreira Gullar uses his newspaper column to reply to an article that appeared in the Correio da Manhã in which Waldemar Cordeiro challenged his review of an exhibition of works by Concrete artists from São Paulo at the MAM-RJ (Museu de [...]

In this essay, Ferreira Gullar offers a “panoramic view” of the developments and theoretical tenets of Neoconcrete art in Brazil. As in other essays [see in the ICAA digital archive “Da arte concreta à arte neoconcreta” (doc. no. 1315036)], [...]

In this essay, Ferreira Gullar articulates the position of the so-called Neoconcrete artists of Rio de Janeiro by tracing a shared history and points of divergence with the Concrete art movement. For Gullar, Concrete art begins in Brazil with the [...]

“Lygia Clark at Signals London, 27th May to 3rd July” is a special edition of Newsbulletin of Signals London devoted to Lygia Clark (1920−1988) on the occasion of the Brazilian artist’s first solo exhibition in England, which [...]

In this essay, the British curator and art critic Guy Brett traces the linkage between the different phases that made up the artistic career of Brazilian artist Lygia Clark. From her Neo-Constructivist paintings and sculptures made in the late 1950s [...]

In this letter dated June 20, 1988, the English critic and curator Guy Brett expresses his gratitude to the Brazilian collector Adolpho Leirner and his wife, Fulvia Leirner, for the time they spent together in São Paolo. Brett is especially [...]

The first Bienal Internacional de São Paulo at the Museu de Arte Moderna en São Paulo (MAM-SP) was presented in 1951; it was a groundbreaking event outside of Europe, attracting the sort of attention usually reserved for the Venice [...]

The synopsis and the annotations in English are coming soon. However, our bilingual readers can click on “Español” to access this information in Spanish [...]

In her introduction to the catalog for the exhibition, The Experimental Exercise of Freedom at the MOCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 1999–2000), the curator Alma Ruiz explains that the purpose of the exhibition is to show [...]

In this essay, Luis Enrique Pérez Oramas discusses the typology of Latin American modern art that is designed “to be penetrated” by the viewer, based on an analysis of major works by three Latin American women artists: Brazilians Lygia Clark and [...]

This article by artist Javier Téllez is a response to an earlier article by fellow Venezuelan artist Eugenio Espinoza on the practice of installations as “cubiculismo.” Téllez asserts that it is not surprising that Espinoza’s text contains [...]

In this text, art critic Lisette Lagnado develops the concept “instauração” formulated by Tunga as a means to go beyond terms such as “instalação” and/or “performance,” which he deemed inapplicable. In Lagnado’s view, the word “ [...]

This volume, which forms part of the Arte Brasileira Contemporânea (ABC) collection, discusses Brazilian artist Lygia Clark. It includes texts by the artist herself—indeed, the book is a sort of anthology of her writings—and by [...]

Artist Milton Machado discusses the response abroad, specifically in England, to the group show Continuum Brazilian Art 1960s–1990s, held in Essex in 1995. Machado comments on the appeal of a certain “exoticism” attributed to [...]

In this interview with Lygia Clark by art critic Vera Pedrosa, the artist discusses the radical change in direction at the heart of her research. Her work no longer revolves around formal questions, but rather around experiences that operate directly [...]

In these lines, artist Lygia Clark analyzes the displacement of the object in her artistic formulations. Whereas before objects were the vehicles of sensations, sensations now take shape by means of the artist’s proposals to form what she calls [...]

In this text, Brazilian artist Lygia Clark affirms the presence of man as the backbone of art. She goes so far as to formulate the loss of the object’s relevance as meaning and as means of communication. She posits a relationship between art and [...]

In the middle of 1968—a critical year in the 20th century—Lygia Clark wrote this brief essay on the position that the artist should pursue in society; in the wake of the student protests that began in Paris in May of that year, demands [...]

In this essay, the Brazilian art critic Frederico Morais calls for a critical review of the axiology involved in the specific value of painting. He believes that we have moved beyond the discussion concerning the specificity of each art, noting that [...]

In this article, the artist Hélio Oiticica discusses the work of Lygia Clark. He believes that her work has become part of a historic art movement, and underscores his connections to the artist’s work. Oiticica expresses his admiration for Clark [...]

In this book, the artist Lygia Clark writes about her creative development over the course of a decade, from 1954 to 1964. She documents her discovery of the organic line, the inclusion of the frame as part of the painting, her use of modular spaces [...]

Chilean art critic Miguel Rojas Mix provides an overview of the exhibition Art in Latin America held at the Hayward Gallery in London in mid-1989. Rojas Mix’s account attempts to explain the curatorial criteria underlying the show, its organization [...]

This article reviews the works exhibited by carioca artists (from Rio de Janeiro) at the I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta. The poet and critic Ferreira Gullar, who lives in Rio and is the leader of the local concrete art group, discusses the [...]

Mário Pedrosa analyzes Lygia Clark’s artistic career beginning with the elimination of frames for her canvases (during the 1950s) through to the incorporation of the viewer’s action into her work (see her Bichos series) and the full integration [...]

Artist Lygia Clark proposes that architects and artists operate as a team in order to come up with innovative and authentic approaches to issues facing the visual arts. She supports the union of “art and life” to produce a harmonious environment [...]

This text by British critic Guy Brett analyzes Latin American art movements of the fifties and sixties, specifically Kinetic art, Op art, and Concretism. Brett argues that those movements formulated a radical change on the level of theory and of [...]

The Brazilian critic Frederico Morais suggests that the discovery of artistic production emerging from peripheral locales in nations on both sides of the Atlantic is leading to a process of cultural decentralization. This outward movement from the [...]

In Crimen es ornamento [Crime is Ornamental], the text of the exhibition catalogue of the homonymous show carried out in the Centro Cultural Parque España, Rosario (Argentina), between September 8 and October 2, 1994, Carlos Basualdo links the works [...]

Romualdo Brughetti's critique of the Torcuato Di Tella Prize emphasizes some aspects of sculpture that are related to society, materials, and to going beyond the limits of traditional sculpture, as well as its outcome in the art field. After having [...]

This report includes an extensive unsigned article as well as a number of important documents and photos. It begins by presenting the placement and positions of “the boldest artists of their country…and one of the most brilliant teams of the [...]

Eduardo Baliari, a critic for the Clarín newspaper, points out in his note that connections are missing among the eight Argentinean artists and the eleven foreign artists invited to the 1962 Torcuato Di Tella Prize; particularly among the works of [...]