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, written by Wilson Coutinho, the Brazilian curator and art critic, appeared in the catalogue for the exhibition Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte (1977). Coutinho discusses the context in which Concrete poetry developed in Brazil in [...]

In this essay, written for the paradigmatic exhibition Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte, Júlio Katinsky discusses the relationship between the Concrete art movement in São Paulo and industrial design. He points out that, in both [...]

In this introductory essay, which appeared in the catalogue for the paradigmatic exhibition Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte, Aracy Amaral describes the “revelation” she experienced as she researched the period in question: “ [...]

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 [...]

In this essay, Ferreira Gullar critiques the exhibition of works by São Paulo Concrete artists at the MAM-RJ (Museu de Arte Moderna de Rio de Janeiro, 1957). He also critiques Waldemar Cordeiro’s introductory essay and its assertion that [...]

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 [...]

In this essay, Ferreira Gullar challenges the position taken by Rio de Janeiro’s so-called neo-Concrete artists in his account of the two movements’ shared history and disagreements. In his opinion, the genesis of Brazilian Concrete art [...]

This lengthy article discusses the main doctrinaire questions that concerned Joaquín Torres García, stressing his personal view of the “American race” as a transplant with no roots, for which he proposes the development of a collective, “ [...]

This brief, anonymous article, published on January 25, 1959, in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, notes that the Galeria de Arte das Folhas closed out 1958 with a group exhibition of Concrete art. The article names the six [...]

This poster was designed to promote the inaugural Exposição nacional de arte concreta: artes visuais, which was presented in December 1956 at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP) and in January–February 1957 at [...]

In this text, art critic Alberto Tassinari analyzes works by José Resende exhibited at the Gabinete de Arte Raquel Arnaud in São Paulo in March 1983. In Tassinari’s view, these sculptures “formulate the problem of the past”; they partake of [...]

In this essay, Rogério Duarte defines “industrial design” as the concept of  form in its serial reproduction. As he references the origins of Renaissance-style typography, he weighs in and deliberates about various theories on the subject, as [...]

In this text, art critic Sônia Salzstein analyzes a sculpture in the collection of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM-SP) produced by José Resende in 1975. On the basis of this sculpture, Salzstein formulates the way that Resende’s work [...]

In this essay, Tadeu Chiarelli analyzes Brazil art from the eighties and nineties, specifically production that involves three-dimensional space (sculpture, objects, or installation). He draws ties between those decades and the experimental tradition [...]

In this text, Ronaldo Brito analyzes Amilcar de Castro’s work in the media of sculpture and drawing. He discusses the connections between de Castro’s production and modern sculpture. Brito asserts that de Castro’s art formulates a rejection of [...]

Art critic Márcio Doctors analyzes the work of Lygia Pape, whom he considers the most radical of the three Neo-Concrete artists (Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, and Pape). These artists set out to confront the radical experience of space as if it were [...]

As this interview by Rodrigo Naves with Raquel Arnaud explains, Arnaud first got involved with the Brazilian art scene at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) between 1968 and 1971, under the guidance of the museum’s founder and director, Pietro [...]

In his interview with Professor Del Brenna, the theoretician and academic administrator Tomás Maldonado gave a retrospective reading of what was known as the “Modernism project.” This was the guideline for 20th Century art movements in the [...]

Lina Bo Bardi, director of the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAMB), explains the title of the exhibition Desenho concreto [Concrete Design], which featured airplane engines and electronic parts. She provides a historical perspective on the [...]

On the basis of a text by Robert Fontené, Lourival Gomes Machado formulates a criticism of theorists of abstraction, specifically of Fontené himself and of Belgian curator Léon Degand. Gomes Machado sees both those critics as advocates of a [...]

In this article, Lourival Gomes Machado discusses the major contribution that Concrete artists have made to the São Paulo art scene. In his view, their stimulating presence provoked a wide range of reactions years after the first exhibition of the [...]

In this newspaper article, Lourival Gomes Machado observes that art criticism in Brazil has finally started considering Concrete art as an important form of expression in Brazilian art. In his opinion, the idea of “rupture” with the art world— [...]

Lygia Pape, the artist curating the Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro exhibition (in the version shown in Rio de Janeiro), analyzes the legacy of the constructive art movements in Brazil retrospectively, and based on these, assesses Brazilian art on a [...]

Geraldo de Barros presents an exhibition of a series of paintings by Brazilian painter and draftsman Nelson Leirner. His text discusses transformations in painting due to the Industrial Revolution and the new social reality that has taken shape [...]

This is an article written by Marcos Santarrita, published in the form of a one-act play, with the lead parts played by Décio Vieira and Alfredo Volpi, along with a reporter (Santarrita) and a photographer. The scene takes place in the workshop of [...]

The critic Ferreira Gullar interviews the artist Ivan Serpa, who thinks that painting represents the contradictions of his contemporary world, which builds devices that are designed to destroy and others that allow mankind to float around in outer [...]

Hélio Oiticica describes the mock-up for the environmental project Cães de Caça [Hunting Dogs], a space consisting of five sets of works called “Penetráveis,” the “buried poem” by the writer and art critic [José Ribamar] Ferreira Gullar [...]

In this article, Hélio Oiticica explains what he means by the terms “color,” “time,” “structure,” and even “space” as applied to his work, underscoring the interrelationships between these elements and the organic nature of his art. [...]

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 [...]

Hélio Oiticica presents his research into the transition from two-dimensional paintings to three-dimensional works of art, discussing some of his own projects—such as Invenções, Núcleos, and Penetráveis—and the designs for open air [...]

In this review of the 1961 solo exhibition of painter Hermelindo Fiaminghi, the author roundly criticizes the current dilemma of Brazilian concrete art. He also condemns the movement for its failure to achieve one of its goals, which was to make it [...]

This manifesto was published on the occasion of the I Exposição Neoconcreta held in Rio de Janeiro (1959). The document, which is signed by the artists who participated in the exhibition, describes the “Neo-concrete” movement as a radical [...]

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 [...]

This is the artist Willys de Castro’s description of the Associação de Artes Visuais Novas Tendências, the non-governmental cultural organization that operated in São Paulo from 1963 to 1965. He outlines the functions of the nt [New Trends] [...]

This text introduces the catalogue to the Exposição Nacional de Arte Abstrata held at Hotel Quitandinha in the city of Petrópolis, located near Rio de Janeiro, in February and March of 1953. Artist Edmundo Jorge, who organized the show, issues a [...]

This text addressing the international career of Mary Vieira, a Brazilian sculptor who lived in Switzerland, was published in the magazine HABITAT. It includes transcriptions of some parts of a lecture that took place at the Centro d’arte [...]

Brazilian art critic Ferreira Gullar argues that the sculpture of Amilcar de Castro is related to Neo-Concretism. Ferreira Gullar asserts that de Castro’s work eschews some of the characteristics of Concrete art, among them the use of serial [...]

In this article, Hélio Oiticica reviews Amílcar de Castro’s sculptural works, noticing as he does so that the artist is adopting a new approach within the context of constructive art by combining intellectual and expressive elements as part of [...]

The art critic Ferreira Gullar discusses the concept of the “non-object,” a kind of work of art that cannot be classified as belonging to any of the traditional genres of painting or sculpture. He chronicles the gradual disappearance of the [...]

This is a critical and historical review of Concrete art, written by the poet and critic Ferreira Gullar, who sees the movement as an objective, critical response to the modern era and industrial society. Gullar makes comparisons between the ideas of [...]

In this text, Ronaldo Brito provides a critical analysis of Constructivist tendencies in modern art. He argues that the emergence of Neo-Concretism in Rio de Janeiro in 1959 was a consequence of the crisis of Constructivist ideologies. Brito presents [...]

In this essay, the critic Ferreira Gullar discusses his opinion of the work of Lygia Clark, which he believes is an example of how the Neo-Concrete movement was breaking with traditional ways of using the exhibition space. Ferreira Gullar construes [...]

The critic Ferreira Gullar discusses the result of the I Exposição Neoconcreta as he reviews the works shown by Aluísio Carvão and Hélio Oiticica. He mentions the novel approach taken by both artists in their use of the exhibition space, and [...]

In this statement, visual artist Lygia Pape discusses her proposal in Ballet neoconcreto; rendering space dynamic is, the artist explains, essential to works of this sort. In her view, works in modern dance by Oscar Schlemmer and Nicolas Schoffer [...]

In this essay the poet Reynaldo Jardim describes the theoretical underpinnings of a “concrete ballet.” Along the lines of other forms of Concrete Art, the production seeks to convey a “constructive” rather than chaotic feeling which, in the [...]

The visual artist Willys de Castro reviews the exhibition of drawings by his lifelong companion Hércules Barsotti at the Galeria de Arte das Folhas, in São Paulo. De Castro discusses Barsotti’s technique in great detail, including [...]

This text is a historical balance sheet of Concrete art in Brazil. The art critic, Ferreira Gullar, introduces Concrete art as a movement of “rupture” whose radical nature contrasts with the painting that predominated in Brazil in the late 1940s [...]