Bispo do Rosario: All Existing Materials on Earth

On view: January 25 through May 20, 2023

Art at Americas Society presents Bispo do Rosario: All Existing Materials on Earth, the first solo exhibition in the United States of Bispo do Rosario (b. 1909, Japaratuba, d. 1989, Rio de Janeiro), an Afro-Brazilian artist who created more than one thousand objects from within his confinement at Colônia Juliano Moreira, a psychiatric institution in Rio de Janeiro where he lived most of his life. The exhibition is bringing together iconic artworks by Bispo, including hand-embroidered textiles with assorted attached elements, mixed-media sculptures, and his signature “Annunciation Garment,” his best-known work.

To accompany the show, we will present a series of public programs and publish a pocketbook.

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Museu Bispo do Rosario Arte Contemporânea in Rio de Janeiro, and is co-curated by Aimé Iglesias Lukin, Ricardo Resende, and Javier Téllez, with Tie Jojima.

View gallery and visitors information here.

Selected Works

Photo: Jean Manzon

Work by Bispo do Rosario

1. Arthur Bispo do Rosario wearing his work Manto da apresentação (Annunciation garment), pictured in a photographic essay, Revista O Cruzeiro (The Cruzeiro Magazine), 1943. Photo: Jean Manzon

2. Untitled [Eu preciso dessas palavras escritas (I need these words written)], n.d. Fabric, thread, wood, ink.

3. Untitled [Manto da apresentação (Annunciation garment)], n.d. Fabric, thread, ink, found materials, fiber.

4. Untitled [Grande Veleiro (Big sailboat)], n.d. Wood, plastic, fabric, foam, metal, ink, graphite, paper, found materials, thread, fiber, nylon.

5. Untitled [Compasso (Compass)], n.d. Wood, fabric, thread, metal, paper.

Funders

Major support for the exhibition is provided by Almeida & Dale Galeria de Arte.

The presentation of Bispo do Rosario: All Existing Materials on Earth is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Additional support comes from the William Talbott Hillman Foundation, the Cowles Charitable Trust, the Garcia Family Foundation, and the Consulate General of Brazil in New York.

In-kind support is provided by Ternium Brazil.

With thanks to Fundación PROA, Buenos Aires.

Americas Society acknowledges the generous support from the Arts of the Americas Circle contributors: Estrellita B. Brodsky, Virginia Cowles Schroth, Emily A. Engel, Diana Fane, Almeida & Dale Galeria de Arte, Isabella Hutchinson, Carolina Jannicelli, Vivian Pfeiffer, Phillips, Gabriela Pérez Rocchietti, Erica Roberts, Sharon Schultz, Diana López and Herman Sifontes, and Edward J. Sullivan.