Press Release - The Fruitmarket Gallery

The Fruitmarket Gallery Media Release
Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in
Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art
Curated by Paulo Venancio Filho
Exhibition 6 March – 25 May 2015
Artur Barrio, Waltércio Caldas, Sergio Camargo,
Aluísio Carvão, Amílcar de Castro,
Willys de Castro, Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias,
Fernanda Gomes, Jac Leirner, Antonio Manuel,
Cildo Meireles, Ernesto Neto, Hélio Oiticica,
Lygia Pape, Mira Schendel, Tunga
and Carlos Zilio.
The Fruitmarket Gallery presents a group exhibition
that examines the transitions that have occurred
within the sphere of the object in Brazilian art since
the 1950s, and the importance of these transitions
in the establishment of the hugely influential
experimental tradition in Brazilian contemporary art.
‘Active-object’, ‘relational object’, ‘trans-object’,
‘non-object’, ‘poem object’, ‘graphic object’ are some
of the new categories invented as artists struggled
to come to terms with the conceptual expansion
and redefinition of the object. Connecting the work
of well-known Brazilian artists such as Hélio Oiticica,
Lygia Clark and Mira Schendel, with the work of their
lesser-known contemporaries and the younger
generation of artists that followed, the exhibition is
a celebration of some of the beautiful and artistically
radical sculptures with which Brazilian artists have tried
to redefine what an art object can actually be.
From the more abstract, phenomenological objects
of the neoconcrete artists of the 1950s, including
Sergio Camargo’s Cubo aberto (Open Cube),
1958–59, through to the conceptual works of the
Media Enquiries
Claire Rocha da Cruz
Press and Marketing Manager
Email marketing@fruitmarket.co.uk
Phone +44(0) 131 226 8182
Hélio Oiticica Relevo Espacial (Vermêlho) REL 036 (Spatial Relief [red] REL 036), 1959, polyvinyl acetate resin on plywood.
Tate. Purchased with assistance from the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, Tate Members and the Art Fund 2008.
© Tate, London, 2014
avant-gardes of the 1960s and 70s, including
examples of Hélio Oiticica’s Bolides and Lygia Clark’s
Bichos, and into the 1980s and to the present day
with works including Fernanda Gomes’s untitled
sculptural constructions and small objects by
Ernesto Neto, this exhibition traces a coherent
sequence of artistic experimentation in the realm
of the object, investigating this period of great
artistic and historic importance, and its influence on
contemporary art today.
45 Market Street,
Edinburgh EH11DF, Scotland
P +44 [0] 131 225 2383
F +44 [0] 131 220 3130
info@fruitmarket.co.uk
www.fruitmarket.co.uk
The
Fruitmarket
Gallery
Antonio Dias Mãos (Hands), 1975/2002, painted iron,
Collection of the artist. Photo: Vincente de Mello
Listings information
Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern
and Contemporary Brazilian Art
Curated by Paulo Venancio Filho
6 March – 25 May 2015
Gallery opening hours:
Mon – Sat, 11am–6pm; Sun, 12–5pm
Admission free
45 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DF
www.fruitmarket.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Paulo Venancio Filho is an art critic, independent curator
and professor of art history at the Federal University of
Rio de Janeiro. He is the curator of many major exhibitions
on Latin American art, including Wifredo Lam – Gravuras
(Caixa Cultural, Rio de Janeiro, 2010); Sergio Camargo:
Claro Enigma (Instituto de Arte Contemporânea, São Paulo,
2010); Hot Spots (Kunsthaus Zurich, 2009); Time and Place:
Rio de Janeiro 1954:1964 (Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2008);
Anna Maria Maiolino: Territories of Immanence (Miami Art
Central, 2006); Soto: A Construção da Imaterialidade
(Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil, 2005); and Rio de
Janeiro 1950–1964 in Century City: Art and Culture in the
Modern Metropolis (Tate Modern, 2001). His articles have
appeared in major catalogues including Tunga/Cildo
Meireles (Kanaal Art Foundation, Belgium); Inside the Visible
(The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston);
Experiment/Experiência (Museum of Modern Art, Oxford);
and Oiticica in London (Tate Modern, London).
The Fruitmarket Gallery makes art accessible without
compromising art or underestimating audiences. We bring
to Scotland the work of some of the world’s most important
contemporary artists, recognising that art can change lives.
We make exhibitions, commissions and publications directly
in collaboration with artists. We make it easy for everyone
to engage with art and welcome all audiences.
The Fruitmarket Gallery is not-for-profit and exhibitions are
always free. Our work is supported through Regular Funding
from Creative Scotland, income from the café and
bookshop as well as fundraising from trusts, foundations,
donations and sponsorship. Please support us to stay
independent, ambitious and free.
For more information and images, please contact
Press and Marketing at: marketing@fruitmarket.co.uk,
+44(0)131 226 8182.
The Fruitmarket Gallery is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland No. 87888 and registered
as a Scottish Charity No. SC 005576. VAT No. 398 2504 21. Registered Office: 45 Market St., Edinburgh, EH1 1DF