Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art
6 March–25 May 2015
The Fruitmarket Gallery
45 Market Street
Edinburgh, EH1 1DF
www.fruitmarket.co.uk
Twitter / Facebook
Curated by Paulo Venancio Filho
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 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.
A catalogue of the same title Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art, written by Paulo Venancio Filho with a forward by Briony Fer, is available online.
Panel discussion
Wednesday 13 May, 6–8pm
Free, book via Eventbrite
Refreshments and exhibition viewing from 6pm
Rachel Adams (artist), Dr Michael Asbury (University of the Arts, London) and Dr Isobel Whitelegg (LJMU/Tate Liverpool) consider the role of the object in Brazilian art from the 1950s to the present. Chaired by Dr Catherine Spencer (University of St Andrews).
Part of the conference “Possibilities of Exchange: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art,” co-organised by The Fruitmarket Gallery and Edinburgh College of Art/University of Edinburgh (13 & 14 May). For further information, visit possibilitiesofexchange.wordpress.com.
Events
Concert: Strings, Wires, Threads and Guts: Emma Lloyd and Matthew Whiteside
Sunday 10 May, 7–8:30pm
Book via Eventbrite
A musical way to enjoy an evening viewing of the exhibition with music for viola d’amore, viola and electronics. Includes Prologue by Gérard Grisey and premieres Glasgow-based composer Matthew Whiteside’s new work.
Tours
All tours are free, to book please call 0131 225 2383 or email info [at] fruitmarket.co.uk.
Amplified tour
Saturday 11 April, 2–3pm
Free, 10 places
An exhibition tour designed with portable FM hearing loops, for visitors who are hard of hearing.
Descriptive tour
Thursday 7 May, 6:30–8pm
Free, 10 places
An exhibition tour designed for visually impaired visitors.
Group tours
Including an introduction to the exhibition, bookings must be made in advance.
Saturday tours
Open to everyone, why not drop-in for a free tour at 2pm each Saturday. No booking necessary.
