Zentrum Paul Klee | Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism

After works of Brazilian modern art made a grand entrance at this year’s Venice Biennale, the exhibition Brasil! Brasil! The birth of Modernism at the Zentrum Paul Klee is providing a major introduction to the modern art of this country with continental dimensions.

At the start of the 20th century, Brazil was a young nation in transition. Like the avant-garde in Europe, artists were determined to develop a pictorial language of their own. They engaged with traditions and themes that they defined as ‘their own’: indigenous practices, the Afro-Brazilian cultures introduced by slaves, ethnic plurality.

With a selection of about 130 works, the exhibition shows the different ways in which Brazilian artists developed their own modern pictorial languages. It presents ten artists and an introduction to formative political and economic events as well as milestones in the country’s literature, music, design and architecture – a unique opportunity to discover an art that has remained relatively unknown until now, and with it an entire country.

On the cover: Tarsila do Amaral, O lago, 1928
Oil on canvas, 75,5 × 93 cm
Hecilda e Sergio Fadel
Photo: Jaime Acioli © Tarsila do Amaral S/A

Source: Show On Show