Editorial
List
See the result of the most voted exhibitions
4 Dec 2023, 2:15 pm
Various museums and institutions promoted a bold program this year, marked by the resurgence of the cultural sector. There were numerous individual and collective exhibitions dedicated to the life and work of visual artists, in addition to another edition of the São Paulo Biennial and the debut of a new biennial in the Amazon region.
SP–Arte compiled the main exhibitions of the year from the team’s perspective and invited the public to help us create a final ranking with the ten exhibitions that defined 2023.
Check out the ranking below.
Retratistas do Morro – Sesc Pinheiros
Composed of photographs spanning the period from 1960 to 1990, the exhibition (until January 28, 2024) showcases the work of photographers Afonso Pimenta and João Mendes. The exhibition is curated by researcher and visual artist Guilherme Cunha, with a focus on the Aglomerado da Serra region, located to the south of Belo Horizonte.
The exhibition is an extension of the social project “Retratistas do Morro,” initiated by Cunha in 2015. The project aims to contribute to the preservation of the national historical and cultural heritage and expand the understanding of the history of images in Brazil, particularly the visual narratives produced by portrait photographers in the communities. To achieve this, mapping, identification, cataloging, and restoration work were carried out on the photographic collections of these portrait photographers.
Last August, the project was one of the main highlights of SP–Arte Rotas Brasileiras at the GDA booth.
(Sesc São Paulo)
35th Bienal de São Paulo: choreographies of the impossible
The largest exhibition of contemporary art in the southern hemisphere and the second oldest in the world after the Venice Biennale, the 35th São Paulo Biennial took place between September and December of this year.
Titled “Choreographies of the Impossible,” the exhibition brought together 121 artists from around the world, with 80% being non-white, showcasing sculptures, paintings, installations, and videos. Without a chief curator, the 35th edition was curated by Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes, and Manuel Borja-Villel.
According to the curators, “the impossible refers to the political, legal, economic, and social realities in which these artistic and social practices are embedded, but also in the way these practices find alternatives to bypass the effects of these same contexts. The term choreography also helps us reflect on how the idea of moving freely remains at the core of a neoliberal conception of freedom.”
(Fundação Bienal)
Dos Brasis – Sesc Belenzinho
Amazon Biennial: Bubuia
The first edition of the Amazon Biennial had its main exhibition space in an old department store covering 7,600 square meters in the commercial center of Belém, Pará. The exhibition brought together works from 120 artists from the nine Brazilian Amazonian states and the seven countries that make up the Pan-Amazon. Held between August and November of this year, one of the main goals was to reveal a powerful cultural system that extends far beyond the landscapes of the forest, addressing global themes such as the economy, social relations, and world-relevant climate issues.
The curation of artists was carried out by a collective of women called “sapukai,” a word from the Tupi language that means song, clamor, or shout. The collective includes Vânia Leal, Sandra Benites, Keyna Eleison, and Flavya Mutran. Under the theme “Bubuia: Waters as a Source of Imaginations and Desires,” the exhibition is inspired by the work of poet João de Jesus Paes Loureiro, who advocates for Amazonian “dibubuísmo.” The term is derived from the Tupi word “bubuia,” commonly used in the region to denote the “act or effect of floating (bubuiar), floating on the waters.”
(Agência Brasil)
Yhuri Cruz – Revenguê: An Exhibition-Scene, MAR
The exhibition concept by visual artist, writer, and playwright Yhuri Cruz in “Revenguê: an Exhibition-Scene,” his solo exhibition at the Museum of Art of Rio, was inspired by a fiction he developed in recent years, presenting a new planet and its reverberations on those who come to know it.
Divided into four core elements, the exhibition featured, at times, performances by Yhuri and six other artists. During these presentations, the audience witnessed the creation of new works for the exhibition.
The exhibition was curated by Marcelo Campos, Amanda Bonan, Jean Carlos Azuos, Amanda Rezende, and Thayná Trindade and took place between April and October 2023.
(Museum of Art of Rio)
The Imaginary Collection of Paulo Kuczynski, Instituto Tomie Ohtake
The second edition of the “Tomie Ohtake Institute visits” project invited curator Jacopo Crivelli Visconti to propose a journey through the trajectory of Paulo Kuczynski’s Imaginary Collection. The exhibition, held between May and August, brought together some of the most significant works that had passed through the discernment of the art dealer and collector over almost 50 years of activity. With just over two hundred works from 39 artists, the exhibition – which revived the title of a show organized by Kuczynski in 2004 – aligned different periods and expressions of Brazilian art, allowing for unexpected and highly fruitful connections and proximities.
(Tomie Ohtake Institute)
Alex Červený: Mirabilia – Pina
This panoramic exhibition presents the iconographic universe of the artist over more than 40 years of his career, with a focus on his research on real or dreamlike journeys, blending biblical and mythological characters, pop icons, and scientific illustration. The exhibition features key works, bringing together pieces such as “Quem não chora não mama” (1999), one of the first works he created, and “Aquífera,” which was part of the 23rd Sydney Biennial in 2021, along with two new paintings created especially for the exhibition.
On display until March 10, 2024, the Pinacoteca exhibition showcases over 100 works, including tiles, polychrome ceramics, bronze sculptures, paintings, and engravings. These pieces are the result of a diverse range of references, skillfully articulated with erudition and humor. With artistic rigor and visual coherence, the artist has created a unique universe where the human being, language, landscape, and the sky take center stage.
(Pina)
22nd Sesc_Videobrasil Biennial: Memory is an Editing Station
Artistically directed by Solange Farkas and curated by Raphael Fonseca and Kenyan curator Renée Akitelek Mboya, the 22nd Sesc_Videobrasil Biennial is conceived around a verse by Waly Salomão: “memory is an editing island.” The curatorial focus presents different perspectives and approaches to memory – and forgetfulness – whether individual or collective, linked to various social, political, and cultural contexts. The diverse ideas of memory that emerge in the Biennial vary not only according to the generation of the participating artists but also based on their geographical origin and the media and supports they use – such as video, installation, photography, performance, and textile.
The Global South that emerges in this edition, with artists from 38 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania – including representatives of indigenous peoples – also reflects the post-pandemic global context. With significant space for audiovisual languages, recognizing the central role that video plays in contemporary life, the edition establishes a direct dialogue with the early years of Videobrasil. The exhibition runs until February 25, 2024.
(Videobrasil Cultural Association)
Ana Mendieta: Silhouette in Fire – Sesc Pompeia
The exhibition is a journey through the works of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta (1948-1985). Using various mediums, she explored the intersection of the body, ecology, archetypal femininity, and ancestry. Her work resonates with healing, critique, and performativity, encompassing pieces in video, photography, wooden and clay sculptures, drawings, rural interventions, and actions in spaces not typically designated for artistic expression. The exhibition brings together iconic works, especially films made between 1973 and 1981.
Simultaneously, the exhibition, unprecedented in Latin America, extends into the collective “terra abrecaminhos.” This part of the project invites 30 artists to explore archetypal, cultural, political, and spiritual aspects of Ana Mendieta’s eco-feminine symbolism. Both exhibitions will be on display until January 21 at Sesc Pompeia.
(Sesc São Paulo)
Making the Modern, Building the Contemporary: Rubem Valentim – Inhotim
With co-curation by Lucas Menezes and guest curator Igor Simões, the exhibition showcases works from different periods of the artist’s production (1922-1991), ranging from paintings to reliefs, objects, and serigraphic emblems.
The displayed works span over thirty years of Valentim’s artistic output, forming part of the collection of the Inhotim Institute. Additionally, pieces have been lent by the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia, the Museum of Contemporary Art of São Paulo, and the Museum of Art of Pampulha.
The exhibition also features works by artists in proximity to Rubem Valentim, revealing intersections with his artistic practice, including Mestre Didi, Rosana Paulino, Emanoel Araujo, and Jaime Lauriano, among others. On display until September 30, 2024.
(Inhotim)
SP–Arte Profile
Join the SP–Arte community! We are the largest art and design fair in South America and we want you to be part of it. Create or update your profile to receive our newsletters and to have a personalized experience on our website and at our fairs.