38th Panorama of Brazilian Art: Mil graus (A thousand degrees)

The Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo presents the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art: Mil Graus (A thousand degrees), an exhibition curated by Germano Dushá and Thiago de Paula Souza, and co-curated by Ariana Nuala, whose title evokes the idea of a “heat-limit,” where everything is transformed, referring to the intense climatic and metaphysical conditions that challenge and lead to inevitable processes of transmutation. In this edition, the MAM biennial exhibition presents 34 artists from 16 Brazilian states.

Due to the renovation of Ibirapuera Park’s marquee in the area where MAM is located, this edition of the Panorama will be shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art at the São Paulo University (MAC USP), a partner institution that shares the same origins as MAM. The exhibition will occupy parts of the ground floor and the third floor of MAC USP with more than 130 works, 79 of which are original pieces created for the 38th Panorama.

The curatorial proposal of the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art is to critically elaborate on the current reality of Brazil under the notion of heat-limit, a concept that refers to a temperature at which everything melts, disintegrates and transforms. The project seeks to outline a multidimensional horizon of contemporary Brazilian artistic production, establishing points of contact and contrast between different investigations and practices that share a high energetic intensity.

The research conducted by the curators was guided by five thematic axes: General Ecology, Original Territories, Tropical Lead, Body-Devices, and Trances and Crossings. The axes do not serve as nuclei or segments of the exhibition, but rather as guiding threads that instigate reflections and interpretations, outlining possible relations between the works based on these perspectives.

About the Panorama of Brazilian Art of MAM São Paulo
The series of exhibitions Panorama of Brazilian Art began in 1969 and happened simultaneously to the installation of MAM São Paulo at its headquarters on Ibirapuera Park’s marquee. The first editions of the Panorama left their marks on the history of the museum for contributing directly and effectively to the formation of its contemporary art collection. Throughout the 37 exhibitions held to date, MAM’s Panorama has sought to establish productive dialogues with different notions about the Brazilian artistic production, our history, culture and society. Held every two years, it always produces new reflections on the most critical debates in contemporary Brazil.

Source: Mendes Wood DM