“Strength, Light, Precision – Steel and Artistic Creation” Exhibition at Rio’s MAM

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – From November 9th to February 2nd, 2020, the Museu de Arte Moderno (MAM) opens its doors to the exhibition “Força Precisão Leveza – aço e criação artística” (“Strength Light Precision – steel and artistic creation”), featuring the use of steel as a material in the works of three great artists from different generations: Amilcar de Castro (1920-2002), Franz Weissmann (1911-2005), and Waltercio Caldas (1946).

The exhibition suggests a reflection on the use of steel in the works of these great artists, their diverse processes and approaches, and how they have developed issues such as lightness, balance, geometry, and mathematics and travel through a timeframe that spans from the 1950s to 2000s.

Curated by Franklin Espath Pedroso, the approximately 30 sculptures – gathered in an area of 1,800 square meters on the second floor of the Museum – belong to the Amilcar de Castro Institute, Franz Weissmann Institute, Waltercio Caldas, Pinakotheke Cultural, the Museum itself and the Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection/MAM Rio, among other collections.

About the artists:

There will be 11 works by Amilcar de Castro, the oldest of which dating back to 1955: “Shiva” (1955), which had not been viewed in exhibitions for decades. In addition to the collection of the Amilcar de Castro Institute, the artist’s sculptures that belong to Pinakotheke Cultural and to the MAM Collection will be part of the exhibition.

In the gardens designed by Burle Marx, there will also be a sculpture well known to the public: “Sem título” (2000), a donation made to the Museum by the poet and critic Ferreira Gullar.

Curiosity: Amilcar de Castro invariably used dense, thick steel plates, bending them gently as if they were simple sheets of paper. He made incisions as if they were lines and folded the steel. With these incisions, he would create the empty spaces that sometimes the ordinary eye is unable to perceive at first.

Franz Weissmann’s historical works “Coluna concreta” (1951/2003), an icon of the history of Brazilian art, and “Torre” (“Coluna neoconcreta I”, 1957), in addition to “Sem título” (1957/2003), and others from the 1970s and 1980s – like “Flor tropical” (1980) -, 1990 and the most recent, “Espaço circular” (2004/2011) will be featured.

Weissmann is the Brazilian artist with the most works in public venues.

Curiosity: Franz Weissmann, used to work with thinner steel plates, although not with any less strength. But he cut and welded them together. There are thousands of combinations in a great game of fittings and repetitions. Weissmann was one of the great names of the Brazilian construction project and his work is a reference for many.

Little known works in Brazil by Waltercio Caldas, such as “Mar de Exemplo” (2014), only viewed in the year of its creation at Sesc Belenzinho, in São Paulo, in stainless steel and acrylic and “O Incidente” (1995), never before viewed in Brazil.

These works complement the artist’s iconic sculptures that combine stainless steel and cotton or wool yarn from the 1990s and 2000s.

Curiosity: Waltercio Caldas’ steelworks are always very well polished and of great precision. He often combines them with other elements that apparently contrast with steel: wool or cotton thread or even glass. Meticulously planned and executed, his works expose his poetic narrative well.

They are exceptional, in pure harmony and filled with meaning. Works that reflect admirably well the guiding concept of this exhibition: strength, precision, and lightness.

The Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art celebrates the inclusion of Ternium as its sponsor by hosting the exhibition “Força Precisão Leveza – aço e criação artística”.

“The largest steel producer in Latin America, Ternium has been running its largest operating unit since 2016 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, generating more than nine thousand jobs and promoting social actions and projects around it,” said Paulo Albert Weyland Vieira and Henrique J. Chamhum, directors of MAM.

The exhibition also enjoys the support of IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), which developed the visual programming and, together with the curator, the expographic project.

Event:

Exhibition “Força Precisão Leveza – aço e criação artística”
(“Strength Light Precision – steel and artistic creation”)

Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro
Opening: November 9th, 2019, Saturday from 3 to 6 PM
Until February 2nd, 2020

Culture Incentive Law/Sponsors of MAM Rio: Petrobras, Ternium, Ministry of Citizenship – Pátria Amada Brasil – Federal Government.
Support: IED (Istituto Europeo di Design)

Tuesdays through Fridays, from noon to 6 PM.
Saturday, Sunday and holiday, from 11 AM to 6 PM

Admission: R$14 (US$3.50) students over 12 years old; R$7 over 60 years old, Amigos do MAM and children up to 12 years old: free admission.
Wednesdays: Free admission
Sundays family ticket, for up to 5 people: R$14

Address: Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 85
Parque do Flamengo – Rio de Janeiro – RJ 20021-140
Telephone: 21.3883.5600
www.mam.rio

Source: Diário do Rio