Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist

The Jewish Museum presents the first comprehensive exhibition in the United States dedicated to Roberto Burle Marx, one of the most prominent landscape architects of the 20th century. The son of a German Jewish father and a Brazilian Catholic mother, Burle Marx embraced modernism in the early 1930s and revolutionized landscape design by using abstraction as his guiding principle and incorporating native plants. Throughout his 60-year career, the artist designed over 2,000 gardens worldwide and discovered close to 50 plant species. 

Demonstrating the breadth of his work, Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist, on view May 6 through September 18, 2016, features over 100 works, including garden plans, paintings, sculpture, theater designs, jewelry, and a magnificent tapestry—most of which have never been seen in the United States. Also represented in the exhibition are a group of international contemporary artists who have been inspired by Burle Marx: Juan Araujo, Paloma Bosquê, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Luisa Lambri, Arto Lindsay, Nick Mauss, and Beatriz Milhazes (lobby installation). Read more here. 

Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist is co-curated by Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, and Claudia J. Nahson, Morris & Eva Feld Curator, with Rebecca Shaykin, Leon Levy Assistant Curator. The exhibition is organized by the Jewish Museum, New York, in collaboration with the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Rio de Janeiro.
 
After its presentation at the Jewish Museum, New York, the exhibition will travel to the Deutsche Bank KunstHalle in Berlin, and the Museu de Arte do Rio in Rio de Janeiro.


Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings: Beatriz Milhazes
May 6–September 18, 2016
Beatriz Milhazes presents Gamboa II, an installation of five intricate sculptures suspended from the ceiling of the Jewish Museum’s lobby. The Brazilian mixed-media artist uses ephemeral and commonplace materials to create colorful and geometric three-dimensional collages. Her work intertwines visual references to Brazilian popular and folk traditions, as well as to Brazil’s artistic movements such as Constructivism and Tropicália. Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings is an exhibition series of artist commissions in the entrance to the Museum. Read more here. 

This exhibition is organized by Kelly Taxter, Assistant Curator, and Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs.


Related Public Programs

Bang on a Can: Performance by Arto Lindsay
Thursday, May 12, 7:30pm
Inspired by the exhibition Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist, this performance echoes themes of cultural experimentation and cross-pollination between American and Brazilian rock and pop music.
Tickets

This Is How We Do It
Tuesday, May 17, 2pm
Rebecca Shaykin, Leon Levy Assistant Curator, speaks about the contemporary art included in Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist. This program features ASL interpretation.
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

Mas Que Nada: Brazilian Art Since the 1960s
Thursday, September 8, 6:30pm
This program considers the state of contemporary art in Brazil since the 1960s with a focus on the history of the São Paulo Biennial. Moderated by Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs. 
Free with pay-what-you-wish admission; RSVP recommended

This Is How We Do It
Tuesday, September 13, 2pm
Claudia J. Nahson, Morris & Eva Feld Curator, speaks about the process of organizing Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist.
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

Gallery Talks
Discussions related to Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist, led by Jewish Museum educators. 
Free with Museum admission; RSVP recommended

Spiritual Modernism
Fridays, May 13, June 24, and September 9, 2pm 

The Abstract Landscape
Fridays, May 20 and September 16, and Tuesday, July 19, 2pm

From 2D to 3D and Back Again
Friday, June 10, and Tuesday, July 5, 2pm

Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist is made possible by Deutsche Bank, The Emanuel and Riane Gruss Charitable Foundation, an anonymous donation in memory of Curtis Hereld, and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Additional support is provided by the Leon Levy Foundation.

Using Walls, Floors, and Ceilings: Beatriz Milhazes is made possible by the generous support of Wendy Fisher, Alexandra and Guy Halamish, and Toby Devan Lewis.

Public programs are made possible by endowment support from the William Petschek Family, the Trustees of the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Foundation, Barbara and Benjamin Zucker, the late William W. Hallo, the late Susanne Hallo Kalem, the late Ruth Hallo Landman, the Marshall M. Weinberg Fund, with additional support from Marshall M. Weinberg, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation, the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation, and Ellen Liman.

Additional support is provided by Lorraine and Martin Beitler and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.