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Open voting at SP–Arte elects the ten best exhibitions of 2024; meet the winners
19 Dec 2024, 11:35 am
Between December 4 and 11, 2024, more than 1,500 people participated in a vote organized by SP–Arte to choose the ten most impactful exhibitions at museums and cultural institutions, all of which opened this year. Today, Thursday, the 19th, we are pleased to share the results with the public.
We emphasize that this selection is just a snapshot of the diversity and excellence of what was achieved in Brazil in 2024. Notably, three women were awarded the top three spots, alongside three international artists.
Stay tuned to our social media to follow Brazilian artists with exhibitions in galleries, museums, and institutions, both in Brazil and abroad. Check out the winners and share the results with your friends!
1st place
Ideias radicais sobre o amor
Museu de Arte do Rio
Curated by Daniela Labra with curatorial assistance from Maybel Sulamita
August 9 to November 24, 2024
Panmela Castro‘s solo exhibition brought together 17 works, including performances, photographs, paintings, sculptures, and videos, with 10 of them being brand new, addressing the ways of constructing affection. The exhibition was designed to be not only interactive but also participatory. By engaging with each piece, visitors became co-authors, altering its form and content.
Installation view of "Ideias radicais sobre o amor", Museu de Arte do Rio (Photo: Cris Lucena)
2nd place
O Barco
Instituto Inhotim
Curated by Júlia Rebouças and Marília Loureiro
April 13, 2024, to February 2025
Known for her multidisciplinary practice and for addressing issues related to colonialism, Grada Kilomba presents The Boat for the first time in Brazil. In the installation, wooden blocks outline the shape of a slave ship and are accompanied by a homonymous poem by the artist translated into Yoruba, Kimbundu, Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese, English, and Arabic from Syria. A performance divided into three acts will accompany the work throughout the exhibition period.
Installation view of "O Barco", Instituto Inhotim (Photo: Brendon Campos)
3rd place
Eleonore Koch: em cena
MAC USP
Curated by Fernanda Pitta
April 6 to July 17, 2024
Curated by Fernanda Pitta, this exhibition offers a cinematographic perspective on Eleonore Koch‘s work, viewing her paintings as settings. As a result, the traditional pictorial genres she engaged with—landscapes, interiors, and still lifes—were organized according to types of framing: wide shots, medium shots, and close-ups, respectively. Curiosity: Koch used the egg tempera technique she learned in Alfredo Volpi’s studio, and like him, she never fully revealed her recipe.
Installation view of "Eleonore Koch: em cena", MAC USP (Photo: Cecília Bastos/USP Imagens)
4th place
Esconjuro
Instituto Inhotim
Curated by Beatriz Lemos and Lucas Menezes
April 13, 2024, to February 2025
Through installations, photographs, videos, and paintings, Paulo Nazareth‘s solo exhibition explores various ways of connecting with the earth. Over the exhibition period, Esconjuro undergoes transformations resulting in four different versions of the same exhibition, each corresponding to the four seasons. “My desire, more than anything, is for a dialogue with the audience, the staff, and the local community. The wish is for this exhibition to be alive, something that is constantly happening”, stated Nazareth.
Installation view of "Esconjuro", Instituto Inhotim (Foto: Instituto Inhotim)
5th place
Francis Bacon: a beleza da carne
Masp
Curated by Adriano Pedrosa and Laura Cosendey with asssistance from Isabela Ferreira Loures
March 22 to July 28, 2024
The Beauty of Meat was the first solo exhibition in Brazil dedicated to Francis Bacon, one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century. Featuring 23 paintings, the exhibition presented a queer perspective on works produced between the 1940s and 1980s. Imbued with elements of his personal experiences, his human figures are striking for their explicit tension between seduction and violence, life and death, beauty and horror.
Installation view of "Francis Bacon: a beleza da carne", Masp (Photo: Eduardo Ortega)
6th place
Carlito Carvalhosa – a metade do dobro
Instituto Tomie Ohtake
Curated by Ana Roman, Lúcia Stumpf, Luis Pérez-Oramas and Paulo Miyada
October 25, 2024, to February 2, 2025
This retrospective spans nearly 40 years of Carlito Carvalhosa‘s career, focusing on the experimental nature of his work. Featuring paintings, sculptures, and installations, the exhibition is divided into nine sections and occupies three rooms at Instituto Tomie Ohtake. Half of Double is accompanied by an audio catalog from Supersônica, a platform conceived by the artist’s daughter, Maria Carvalhosa, where curators, artists, and friends reflect on his work.
Installation view of "Carlito Carvalhosa - a metade do dobro", Instituto Tomie Ohtake (Photo: Cabrel Escritório de Imagem)
7th place
38º Panorama da Arte Brasileira: Mil graus
MAM SP
Curated by Germano Dushá, Thiago de Paula Souza and Ariana Nuala
October 5, 2024, to January 26, 2025
The notion of heat-limit guides this edition of the Panorama of Brazilian Art, featuring artists such as Antonio Tarsis, Jayme Figura, Maria Lira Marques, Marlene Almeida, Rebeca Carapiá, Solange Pessoa, and Mestre Zimar. The theme references high temperatures not only in the climatic sense but also politically and socially, aiming to spark reflections on the transformations caused by extreme conditions.
Due to renovations of the canopy at Ibirapuera Park, this edition of the event is taking place at MAC USP.
Installation view of Panorama da Arte Brasileira 2024, MAM SP (Photo: Ruy Teixeira)
8th place
Inflamação
Casa Bradesco
Curated by Marcello Dantas
September 15, 2024, to January 15, 2025
The exhibition by Anish Kapoor, one of today’s most celebrated artists, launched the program at Casa Bradesco within the Cidade Matarazzo complex in September this year. The color red serves as the central theme of the show, aiming to explore the physical and psychological interior of humans. Known for his mirrors that distort the observer’s image, Kapoor developed a work specifically to engage with the space, titled Blinded by Eyes, Butchered by Birth.
Installation view of "Inflamação", Casa Bradesco (Photo: Casa Bradesco)
9th place
Claudia Andujar: minha vida em dois mundos
Pinacoteca do Ceará
Curated by Eduardo Brandão
June 22 to December 29, 2024
Installation view of "Claudia Andujar: minha vida em dois mundos", Pinacoteca do Ceará (Photo: Marilia Camelo)
10th place
Lygia Clark: projeto para um planeta
Pinacoteca de São Paulo
Curated by Ana Maria Maia and Pollyana Quintella
March 2 to August 4, 2024
Over 150 works spanning the 30-year career of Lygia Clark occupied the seven galleries of Pina Luz, inviting public participation. Clark, one of the most significant names in Brazilian art, was part of a generation responsible for expanding artistic languages, establishing connections with sociocultural issues, and engaging people in the creative experience. The exhibition included a platform with replicas of Bichos (1960), her most iconic series, for the public to handle, and the work Maquete para interior nº 3 (1955) reassembled on a large scale specifically for the occasion, along with film excerpts, photos, and documents.
Installation view of "Lygia Clark: projeto para um planeta", Pinacoteca de São Paulo (Photo: Isabella Matheus)
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