Jandyra Waters, untitled, 1982/Photo: MASP
The unlikely geometric shapes of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) always draw attention, even to those who see it frequently. The lines and volumes created by Lina Bo Bardi convey lightness, instability, boldness and innovation. The floating horizontal volume of the iconic modernist museum almost overshadows its new annex—a tall, black and monolithic building—in a vibrant (and also intentional) play. But if we think about the MASP collection, figurative art is predominant, and demonstrates the aesthetic taste of the legendary curator Pietro Maria Bardi (1900-1999). However, the museum has a good collection of abstract art, which is evident in the sixty-two selected works in the exhibition “Geometries.” The exhibition is small, like a quick brushstroke full of information, and is efficient, presenting contemporary works, alongside icons of concretism, neoconcretism, constructivism and kinetic art.
Arriving at the exhibition is overwhelming and stirs the senses. A myriad of overlapping shapes and colors move before our eyes. Upon exiting the elevator, we are immediately faced with a tall, wide wall covered in hypnotic “wallpaper,” which is the work “Chromatic Introduction to Double Frequency 1” (2018) by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923-2019), one of the masters of kinetic art. Following this flow of colors and shapes, we arrive at one of the classic sculptures in cut steel by Amílcar de Castro (1920-2002). Despite appearing light and malleable, Castro’s heavy sculpture is a kind of counterpoint to the manageable flexibility of “Critter” by Lygia Clark (1920-1988), an obvious name here and an exponent of neoconcretism. There are also sculptures by Franz Weissmann (1911-2005), a classic artist of constructivism, and by Ascânio MMM and Marcius Galan, which confirm the strength and constancy of geometricism in three-dimensional Brazilian artworks.
Iran do Espírito Santo, “Can K,” 2005/Photo: MASP
A piece that really attracts attention in this exhibition is a black-and-white dress. The piece flirts with op art and is signed by the painter Hércules Barsotti (1914-2010) and the fashion designer and illustrator Alceu Penna (1915-1980). “Long dress (layered column dress)” (1966) is part of the notable MASP Rhodia Collection, produced in the 1960s in a collaboration between Brazilian artists and fashion designers. The beautiful dress is the focus of a textile art section with works that include compositions with fabrics, dyes, hand-spun fabrics in various materials and even tailoring. The exquisite technique is used in the work “Retrato de Naor” (Naor’s Portrait), by Laura Lima in collaboration with tailors, who sewed a piece of clothing to fit a wooden frame (the same ones where the canvases are attached) based on the artist’s drawings.
Other names that could not be left out of an exhibition on geometric abstractionism include the Brazilian classics Alfredo Volpi, Ferreira Gullar (poet and mentor of neoconcretism), Lygia Pape, Mira Schendel, Rubem Valentim, Tomie Ohtake, Geraldo de Barros, German Lorca, Gertrudes Altschul, Karin Lambrecht and Paulo Pasta. There are also foreign surprises such as the Mexican Abraham Cruzvillegas, American British artist Sarah Morris and the Angolan Kiluanji Kia Henda. Among the representatives of Brazilian Indigenous art, Daiara Tukano and her vibrantly colored painting made from experiences with ayahuasca, and Dhiani Pa’saro and his beautiful work made with ancestral basketry and marquetry techniques stand out. With such diverse representatives of the branches of geometric abstractionism, the exhibition has the flavor of an appetizer. We hope that MASP will serve up a banquet of geometricism soon.
“Five Essays on MASP: Geometries” is on view at the São Paulo Museum of Art, Paulista Avenue 1578, São Paulo, through August 3.
Arts and communication have been in his life since he entered university in the mid-1980s. In journalism, he has always worked in the areas of culture and arts, both in print, TV and digital media. He was a fellow at Radio Nederland in the course of Educational Programme Production for TV, in The Netherlands. He was part of arts collectives and began studies on curatorship at the Curatorial Laboratory of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (MAM-SP) and amended with the Master’s degree in Aesthetics and Art History at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP).
He has developed exhibitions in galleries and autonomous art spaces and promoted walks as aesthetic practices guided by public art and art spaces in São Paulo’s downtown. He is a contributing writer of Into.Gallery, an online and presential art gallery project in Berlin. In the past, Ivi wrote and edited for musical magazines, like Mixmag and DJ Mag, and still loves dancing techno and loves going to provocative art exhibitions.
