Curator of Repertório, Jacopo Crivelli Visconti tells what’s new for the segment at SP-Arte/2017

21 Mar 2017, 11 am

One of the new features of SP-Arte in 2017 is Repertório. This segment will be presenting Brazilian and foreign artists who are fundamental for understanding contemporary practices through a chronological period of time – the names selected were born before the end of the 1940s, and the works produced until the end of the 1980s.

The exhibit is part of the Festival’s program of curated events and is being headed by Jacopo Crivelli Visconti. In the interview below, he talks about his experience at the helm of this project and shares his expectations for the event.

SP-Arte: This is the first edition of Repertório. How was this project conceived? And how did you curate it?

Jacopo Crivelli Visconti: I believe that Repertório satisfies an almost “institutional” role that SP-Arte assumed over the years, whereby it makes sense to create a segment like this that was conceived since the very beginning as a space where the public could either discover or learn more about established artists, but who are not that well-known as they should. They are artists who, in my opinion, should be part of the “repertoire” of anyone interested in art.

SP-Arte: How was this chronological period of time defined (artists born until the end of the 1940s, works produced until the end of the 1980s)?

JCV: This perhaps has to do with my personal interest in conceptual art and movements from the 1970s and 1980s, when many things that would only be assimilated in later decades began being addressed or questioned. But in the end, the selection includes many artists active during these years, whose works do not have a conceptual character, and I think that only by preserving this diversity is it truly possible to understand the effervescence of these years.

SP-Arte: The selection includes Brazilian and foreign names. Is it possible to establish connections between the different practices of these artists?

JCV: Yes, it’s possible, and what’s interesting in my opinion is that these ties can be made today, but refer to the work of artists who, at the time, did not know each other and most probably had no information about what was being produced in other parts of the world. Unexpected connections surface, for example, by juxtaposing the pop works of an arte povera pioneer, Pino Pascali, with the paintings of Carlos Vergara or the series of Niobe Xandó masks.

SP-Arte: What are your expectations for the sector and SP-Arte/2017 as a whole?

JCV: I believe it will be an important sector, since the feedback we’ve gotten so far has been excellent. It seems like lots of people considered it necessary to create a space to look more closely at the works of artists from this generation. With regards to the event, I’m optimistic, but it’s always difficult to make market projections. On the other hand, I prefer to look, as I’ve said before, to the institutional role that SP-Arte plays, that is, its importance to Brazil’s artistic scenario. This is becoming stronger and stronger with each edition, regardless of crises or fleeting ecstasies.