Forma:Brazil, Iran do Espírito Santo and Rivane Neuenschwander

This exhibition was part of Forma:Brazil, a five-month exploration of the modern and contemporary culture of Brazil curated by Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro. Americas Society presented two consecutive exhibitions to highlight the contribution of Brazilian artists to the history of 20th-century art.

The first one focused on a historical scope, presenting the pioneering work of two major abstract artists: Geraldo de Barros (photography) and Lygia Pape (objects and woodprints). This second exhibition was contemporary, focusing on the recent production of Iran do Espirito Santo and Rivane Neuenschwander. Iran do Espírito Santo and Rivane Neuenschwander presented two installations in Americas Society gallery. Both artists created spare and ephemeral works that recalled not only American minimalism, but also the innovative and experimental art of the concrete and neo-concrete movements in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s.

The work of Iran do Espírito Santo (b. 1963, Mococa, São Paulo) could have been characterized by a subtle shifting of the relationship between material and object. By reproducing wood grain in paint on a gallery wall, or fusing different types of glass to create the illusion of depths and recessions where there was none, his work created a discomfiting uncertainty about the status and value of objects. Espírito Santo was included in InSite in San Diego and Tijuana in 1997; the Venice Biennale in 1999; and No es sólo lo que ves: Pervirtiendo el Minimalismo at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid in 2000. His most recent solo project in the United States took place at The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia the preceding year. At Americas Society, Espírito Santo combined a site-specific wall drawing with sculptural floor elements. Gary Garrels wrote that in the artist’s work, “experience is inextricably linked to self-conscious processes of perception, the connection of the eye and the mind seamlessly sealed but made evident.”

Rivane Neuenschwander (b. 1967, Belo Horizonte) has examined the passing of time, whether through the traces of dust on Scotch tape that made minimal abstract patterns, or garlic skins emptied over time. The centerpiece of Neuenschwander’s exhibition at Americas Society was a labyrinth constructed of cardboard boxes through which the visitor could walk and trace the linguistic play of a crossword puzzle. She also presented a new film work entitled World/Word. Neuenschwander’s work had been seen at the São Paulo Bienal in 1998, Looking for a Place at Site Santa Fe in 1999; and No es sólo lo que ves:Pervirtiendo el Minimalismo at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid in 2000. In an interview with Jens Hoffman, published in the brochure that accompanied this exhibition, Neuenschwander stated that her work presented “associations between language, nature, and a state of temporality”.

Exhibition brochures available.

^{This exhibition was made possible by Banco Itaú, S.A., BankBoston: a FleetBoston Financial Company, and Marcos de Moraes.}

Installation views: Iran do Espirito Santo and Rivane Neuenschwander. Americas Society. 2001.