Exhibition reveals influence of arte povera on Brazilian culture

Casa França Brasil, located in the central region of Rio de Janeiro, opens this Saturday (22), at 4 pm, the exhibition O Real Transfigurado – Dialogues with Arte Povera – Sattamini Collection/MAC-Niterói. The exhibition is free and will be open to the public until September 17, from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. On Wednesdays, there is an exclusive service for people with intellectual and mental disabilities, from 10 am to 11 am. The exhibition draws attention to the influence of arte povera on Brazilian artistic production. Arte povera (poor art) is a movement that was born in Italy at the end of the 1960s, and which sought a more experiential relationship with art, while exposing the objectification of the work of art as a purely commercial thing. Just as it happened with pop art, which emerged in Europe and had a strong presence in the United States, and conceptualism, which started in Europe at the same time, arte povera is an Italian movement that also goes in the direction of questioning the work of art as a merely commercial product, one of the curators of the exhibition, Rafael Fortes Peixoto, told Agência Brasil. “The artists of that time began to produce works that subverted the strictly commercial logic”, explained Peixoto. There was a provocation for a more pulsating artistic expression, against the idea of ​​a static artistic object. For this reason, artists used everyday materials considered non-noble, such as organic materials, perishable products and live animals, as is the case of the iconic work Pappagallo, made by Jannis Kounellis in 1967, which featured a parrot eating kibble on its perch. There was a provocation both about what it was to be an artist and about the role of art in the consumer society. In Brazil According to Rafael Peixoto, in Brazil, the movement provoked important ruptures in the concept of the traditional work of art that processed transformations in the following decades, enabling, for example, the development of performances, video art, installations, and opening paths that continue even in contemporary art. In Brazil, in the 1960s and 1970s, the scenario was troubled due to the military dictatorship, and artists either went into exile or remained in the country and faced a scenario of strong censorship, repression and violence. Peixoto highlighted that the works produced at that time in the country bore the mark of denunciation and played the role of democratic resistance, unlike pop and conceptual arts whose criticism, in Europe and the United States, was aimed at the consumer society. The issue of povera was assimilated by the artists in a peculiar way, approaching the political and social issue. Bloody Trouxas (1969), work by Artur Barrio – Paulinho Muniz/Disclosure One of the artists influenced by arte povera in Brazil was the Portuguese living in the country Artur Barrio, who carried out works of great impact with organic materials such as garbage, toilet paper, human waste and putrefied meat. “Barrio is one of the most significant artists and has a very strong influence from arte povera”, stated Peixoto. He regretted that arte povera is still not much studied by critics in Brazil and stressed that the exhibition seeks to “light a spark” so that the theme returns to the fore in the country and is known by the general public and, also, in the artistic environment. Reflection The exhibition, which is sponsored by Petrobras, presents 36 works by 33 artists to the public, made with different techniques, formats and materials. According to the curator, the intention is to make the public reflect on what art is. In addition to presenting works by artists directly linked to this movement during the period of the military dictatorship, the exhibition brings other names, already from the 1980s and 1990s, but that dialogue with these issues from a distance. The works that make up the exhibition belong to the João Sattamini Collection, in loan with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC-Niterói) since 1991. Among the 33 artists selected for the exhibition are Antonio Dias, Cildo Meireles, Anna Bella Geiger, Ernesto Neto, Frans Krajcberg, Artur Barrio, Tunga, Nelson Felix, Iole de Freitas, Antonio Manuel and Nazareth Pacheco. This is the second of three exhibitions in the Paisagens Fluminenses series scheduled for this year. Contemplated in the call for the Petrobras Cultural Múltiplas Expressões Program, the series has the support of the Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The objective is to revitalize Casa França Brasil as an important space for culture and appreciation of Brazilian artistic production. Rafael Peixoto recalled that the first exhibition in the series, Navigating is Necessary – Paisagens Fluminenses, was set at Casa França-Brasil until July 9, and brought together 3,600 people on the opening day alone. “This shows that art is present in people’s lives,” he said.

Agência Brasil