Look: MAM São Paulo visits SESC Bom Retiro

Alberto da Veiga Guignard was born in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1896) and died in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (1962). He studied painting in Europe, attending prestigious academies in Munich and Florence before returning to Brazil in 1929. He worked as a painter, draftsman, illustrator, and teacher, and is recognized as one of the great names of Brazilian modernism. His work is notable for its landscapes of Ouro Preto and other historical cities in Minas Gerais, where baroque churches, colonial houses, and festive balloons emerge in dreamlike and poetic atmospheres. He also produced portraits of family, friends, and cultural figures, remarkable for the delicacy of their lines and decorative richness. He was invited by the then mayor of Belo Horizonte, Juscelino Kubitschek, to direct the newly created School of Fine Arts (1944), where artists such as Amilcar de Castro and Lygia Clark studied. The institution was renamed the Guignard School after the artist's death. Among his recent retrospectives, highlights include Guignard: the plastic memory of modern Brazil, at MAM São Paulo (2015), and The Passion According to Guignard, at Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte (2024).

Alfredo Ceschiatti was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil (1918) and died in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1989). He entered the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro (1940) and studied sculpture under the guidance of Corrêa Lima. At the same time, he attended Cândido Portinari's drawing course. He received the prize for travel abroad from the National Salon of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro (1945) for the bronze panel he developed, at the request of Oscar Niemeyer, for the Church of São Francisco de Assis, in Pampulha, Belo Horizonte. Interested in the Minas Gerais Baroque and Renaissance works, Ceschiatti worked with materials such as bronze, granite, and marble to create formal simplifications of the human figure. His representations of curvilinear and rounded female forms, sometimes partially covered by draped fabrics, are present in numerous public buildings. Among his best-known sculptures are Justice (1961), located in the Supreme Federal Court, The Angels (1970), in the Cathedral of Brasília, and the iconic Two Friends (1966), in the Itamaraty Palace. He participated in important exhibitions such as the 2nd and 3rd São Paulo Biennials (1953 and 1955); the 4th and 7th Panorama of Brazilian Art (1972 and 1975). He held a retrospective exhibition at the MAM São Paulo (1976) and his works are part of the museum's collection.

Amelia Toledo was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1926) and died in Cotia, SP, Brazil (2017). From the late 1930s, she frequented Anita Malfatti's studio. In the 1940s, she took classes with Yoshiya Takaoka and Waldemar da Costa, and worked as a draftsman in the office of architect Vilanova Artigas. She continued her studies at the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, United Kingdom. Back in Brazil, she studied metal engraving (1960). Exploring artistic possibilities in an expanded way, Toledo produced sculptures, paintings, drawings, and installations using industrial and organic materials. The use of geometric and regular elements transformed during the 1970s into a research focused on the forms of nature, making landscape a central element of her production. She participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1975, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1993) and was awarded prizes at the 7th and 9th São Paulo Biennials (1963 and 1967). Her works are part of important collections, such as those of MASP, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and MAM São Paulo – with particular emphasis on her work 7 Waves (1995) in the museum's Sculpture Garden.

Antonio Henrique Amaral was born and died in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1935–2015). He began his training at the MASP School (1952), and furthered his studies in engraving with Lívio Abramo at MAM São Paulo (1956). From the 1960s onwards, he approached the new figuration, incorporating elements of advertising, mass culture, and graffiti into works with a strong political charge. In this context, the banana became a striking image in his production. Frequently represented cut, tied, or pierced by knives, the fruit is used as a critical visual synthesis of the tensions of the military dictatorship, an economic and cultural metaphor for Brazil, or even an image with erotic connotations. In parallel, he also developed portraits marked by fragmented and distorted faces, exploring a more experimental and expressionist side of his painting. Among his recent exhibitions, highlights include Aglomeração – Antonio Henrique Amaral, Instituto Tomie Ohtake (2020), and Antonio Henrique Amaral: Pelo Avesso, Casa Triângulo (2021). He participated in numerous editions of the Panorama da Arte Brasileira (1969, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1986). His works are part of collections such as MAM São Paulo, MAM Rio, Acervo Sesc de Arte and Itaú Cultural.

Artur Barrio was born in Porto, Portugal (1945) and moved to Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1955), where he attended the National School of Fine Arts (1967). Engaging in painting, drawing, video, photography, sculpture, performance, and installation, the artist's work is recognized as disruptive and challenging. The radical nature of his practice can be seen both in his use of unconventional materials and in the sometimes violent themes present in his works, especially those developed during the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil. Barrio's rejection of artistic conventions demystifies and creates tension in the exhibition space through the use of ephemeral and perishable materials, such as garbage, organic materials, and putrefied meat. His best-known work is the Bloodied Bundles (1970), dozens of packages stained with blood and filled with meat and bones, alluding to the disappearance of bodies and state violence during the harsh years of the Brazilian military dictatorship. His work was part of the exhibitions 27th Panorama of Brazilian Art (2001) and The Frontiers of Emptiness (1995) at MAM São Paulo. His works are present in the collections of MAM São Paulo, Sesc Art Collection, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), in the United States, Centre Georges Pompidou, in Paris, among others.

Brígida Baltar was born and died in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1959–2022). In the late 1980s, she attended the School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage and was a member of the Visorama collective. Considered a pioneer in the concept of transient sculpture in Brazil – a type of sculpture marked by impermanence, whose existence is linked to ephemeral processes – Baltar's multimedia production spanned languages ​​such as video, photography, performance, installation, drawing, and sculpture. Her works explore dreamlike issues, fabulations, and narratives of the body through the collection of natural and transient materials. Initially dedicated to gathering elements of domestic life – such as the water accumulated on her roof or the dust from the bricks on the wall of her house – the artist expanded the exercise to the external environment, dedicating herself to the task of capturing the intangible. She participated in the 25th and 30th Panorama of Brazilian Art at MAM São Paulo (1997 and 2007) and the 25th São Paulo Biennial (2002). Her works are present in collections such as MAM São Paulo, MASP, MAM Rio, Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP) and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

Cao Guimarães was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil (1965). The visual artist and filmmaker works with photography and moves between film and video to create his audiovisual pieces. His works document common situations and objects, which move or are captured emphasizing the instant, but which are given new meaning through exploration, duration, focus, and the autonomous movement of people or things. Among his exhibitions, the following stand out: solo exhibitions *Ver é uma fábula. Mostra Cao Guimarães*, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo (2013); *Espera*, at the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS-Paulista), São Paulo (2018); *Cao Guimarães – Ciclo de filmes*, at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), Lisbon, Portugal (2020); and his participation in editions of the Panorama da Arte Brasileira, MAM São Paulo (2001, 2007, 2008 and 2015). and in two editions of the São Paulo Biennial (2002 and 2006).

Carlos Zilio was born in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1944). He attended the Institute of Fine Arts of Rio de Janeiro (1963), where he studied painting with Iberê Camargo. After graduating in Psychology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1973), he went into exile in Paris, France, after two years in prison due to his involvement in the armed struggle against the military dictatorship. He remained in the French capital until completing his doctorate (1980). A visual artist and professor, Zilio participated in important artistic movements of the second half of the 20th century, such as New Figuration and conceptual art. His work is diverse and marked by political engagement and aesthetic experimentation, combining his geometric investigations with a critical and combative discourse regarding the military dictatorship. In 1997, the MAM São Paulo organized the retrospective exhibition Carlos Zilio: Art and Politics 1966-1976. He participated in the 25th Panorama of Brazilian Art (1997). His works are featured in institutions such as the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM São Paulo), the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Niterói (MAC Niterói), the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Rio Museum of Modern Art (MAM Rio), and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) in the United States.

Cássio Vasconcellos was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1965). He began his artistic career as a photographer, attending courses at the Escola Imagem-Ação (1981). He worked as a photojournalist for media outlets and established his own studio specializing in aerial photography. Focusing on the urban landscape, Vasconcellos moves away from documentary photography to propose an approach that connects photography with languages ​​such as painting, printmaking, film, and graphic arts. By exploring different scales, depths, and patterns, the artist creates imaginary spaces and fictions from elements of reality. His works are part of numerous institutional collections, such as MAM São Paulo, Acervo Sesc de Arte, MASP, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France; and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) in the United States.

Claudio Tozzi was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1944). He holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo (FAU/USP) and a bachelor's degree from the same institution. Tozzi began his career as a graphic artist in the 1960s, later dedicating himself to painting. Influenced by pop art, the artist appropriates images from comic books and mass media to address political and urban themes. After a study trip to Europe (1969), he began to focus on the plastic elements of painting, developing chromatic research. In the 1980s, he returned to figuration, showing tendencies towards the geometrization of forms, adding texture and volume to his works. He has created murals in various public spaces, such as Praça da República and the Sé and Barra Funda metro stations in São Paulo; at the USP Law School on the Ribeirão Preto campus; and at the headquarters of the United Nations Development Programme (UNESCO) in Brasília. He participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1983). His works are part of collections such as the MAM São Paulo, the Sesc Art Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP) and MASP.

Cleber Machado was born in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil (1937) and died in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2020). He moved to Rio de Janeiro in the early 1960s and began his artistic career as a painter and jeweler. Expanding the three-dimensionality of jewelry to the production of mobiles, Machado was interested in the balance of form in space, understanding exteriority as an active element in relation to the materiality of his three-dimensional works. He worked from geometric simplifications, evoking sculptural language even in his graphic production, through volumetry and the presence of metallic materials. He was awarded at the 11th São Paulo Biennial (1971) and participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1972, 1975, 1978, 1985, 1988 and 1991). His sculpture Tree (1991) is part of the Sculpture Garden of the MAM São Paulo. Another work by the artist located in a public space is Homage to Galileo Galilei II (2007), at the Vila Mariana metro station in São Paulo. His works are present in collections such as the MAM São Paulo, Sesc Art Collection, MAM Rio, Museum of Brazilian Art of Brasília and the São Paulo State Archive.

Eduardo Coimbra was born in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. A graduate in Engineering from PUC-Rio and with postgraduate studies in Art History and Architecture in Brazil from the same institution, Coimbra produces photographs, sculptures, objects, models, installations, and films. He began his artistic career in the early 1990s, exploring the notion of landscape in interior and exterior environments through the association of chains of images and objects. He has created works in important public spaces, such as Praça XV de Novembro and Praça Tiradentes in Rio de Janeiro, and Praça Charles Miller and Largo da Batata in São Paulo. He participated in the 27th Panorama of Brazilian Art at MAM São Paulo (2001) and the 29th São Paulo Biennial (2010). His work is part of the collections of institutions such as MAM Rio, Acervo Sesc de Arte, Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Paraná, Itaú Cultural, and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

Emanoel Araujo was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brazil (1940) and died in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2022). During the 1960s, he moved to Salvador and studied engraving at the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), a period during which he produced graphic arts and set designs for theaters. In the following decade, he began creating three-dimensional abstract works, approaching the constructivist trend by exploring the presence of African heritage in Brazilian culture through modular geometries and vibrant colors. In addition to being an artist, Araujo was an important curator and cultural manager, serving as director of the Museum of Art of Bahia and the Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo. He was responsible for the founding and direction of the Afro-Brazilian Museum. His work, both as an artist and as a curator and cultural manager, significantly impacted the recognition and appreciation of African heritage in contemporary art in Brazil and abroad. He organized the emblematic exhibition The Afro-Brazilian Hand at MAM São Paulo (1988) and his work Spider (1981) is part of the museum's Sculpture Garden. He participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1971, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1985 and 2008). His work is present in collections such as those of MAM São Paulo, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo, MASP and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

Photo: Afro Brazil Museum/Disclosure

Franz Weissmann was born in Knittelfeld, Austria (1911) and died in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (2005). He arrived in Brazil in 1921 and studied at the National School of Fine Arts, which he abandoned due to its excessively academic character, complementing his training in studios and at the Escola do Parque in Belo Horizonte. He was a member of the Grupo Frente and one of the founders of Neoconcretism. He was one of the main innovators of Brazilian sculpture, developing a language of geometric abstraction marked by the use of metal sheets subjected to cuts, folds, and overlaps. His sculptures incorporate emptiness as an active element in the construction of form, articulating space and matter, and employ flat colors to intensify volumes, rhythms, and visual tensions. The artist also created large-scale works in squares and public buildings, conceiving works that not only occupy but redesign urban space. He participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1972, 1975, 1981, 1985 and 2008) and was awarded prizes at the 3rd and 4th São Paulo Biennials (1955 and 1957). Among recent exhibitions, noteworthy are the retrospectives Franz Weissmann: the void as form, Itaú Cultural (2019), and Franz Weissmann: rhythm and movement, Casa França-Brasil (2023).

German Lorca was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, in 1922, and died in the same city in 2021. He graduated in Accounting from the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios de São Paulo (1940), pursuing parallel self-taught training in photography, which culminated in his entry into the prestigious Foto Cine Clube Bandeirantes (1947). One of the leading names in modern Brazilian photography, he was the official photographer for the celebrations of the 4th Centenary of the City of São Paulo (1954), and became known for his bold and generous compositions that documented the growth of the city of São Paulo in the second half of the 20th century, in which unusual angles and marked contrasts of light and shadow portray the transforming urban landscape of São Paulo, highlighting the rise of modern architecture in the city center and the socio-cultural changes in the peripheral neighborhoods. His work constitutes a broad repertoire of simultaneously documentary, intimate, and civic records of the city. He participated in the 9th São Paulo Biennial (1967) and the 30th Biennial (2013). His work is in major international collections, such as those of MoMA in New York and Tate Modern in England. The MAM São Paulo has more than 50 works by the artist in its collection.

Giuliana Segre Giorgi was born and died in Turin, Italy (1911–2009). A painter and anti-fascist activist, she moved to São Paulo (1939) with her then-husband, the Italian-Brazilian sculptor Bruno Giorgi, after being imprisoned by Mussolini's regime. Returning to Turin (1969), she worked as a translator, being responsible for translating numerous Brazilian classics into Italian, such as *Memorial de Aires*, by Machado de Assis (1908), *Macunaíma*, by Mário de Andrade (1928), and *Avalovara*, by Osman Lins (1973). Giorgi's oil paintings mainly include portraits, landscapes, and still lifes, executed on canvas or wood. She created a religious mural for the Cristo Operário Chapel, located in the southern zone of São Paulo. A cultural heritage site of the State of São Paulo, the chapel's design incorporates landscaping by Roberto Burle Marx, works by Alfredo Volpi, Geraldo de Barros, among others, indicating a dialogue between Giorgi and his contemporaries. His works are part of the collection of the MAM São Paulo (Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo).

Heitor dos Prazeres was born and died in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1898–1966). Son of a carpenter and clarinetist, the artist began his professional career as a singer, composer, lyricist, and instrumentalist, having participated in the founding of the samba schools Portela (1923) and Estação Primeira da Mangueira (1928). A self-taught artist, he began working with painting in the late 1930s, mainly producing oils on canvas, wood, and some furniture. Recognized as one of the leading figures of the so-called Brazilian popular art of the 20th century, Prazeres received the third-place prize at the 1st International Biennial of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (1951) and, in the following edition, was given a special room in the exhibition (1953). Like his songs, the artist's paintings sensitively and almost anthropologically portray the world of samba, favelas, popular festivals, Afro-Brazilian celebrations, and the daily lives of Black people in Brazil. His works are present in the collections of institutions such as MAM São Paulo, MASP, Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), and Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo.

Iran do Espírito Santo was born in Mococa, SP, Brazil (1963). She graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from FAAP (1986). Her work focuses on drawing, sculpture, and installation, investigating the relationships between visual perception, object, and space. Her work often starts from everyday objects, reinterpreted with strong formal precision and dialogue with the vocabulary of industrial design. Economy of means, appropriation of objects and displacement from their original context of use, and chromatic reduction, frequently based on white, gray, and black, are recurring elements in her research. She has participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1990, 1997, 2001, and 2008) and editions of the São Paulo Biennial (1987, 2008, and 2013). His works are part of national institutional collections such as those of MASP, MAM São Paulo, Acervo Sesc de Arte, MAC USP, Instituto Inhotim, as well as international collections, such as those of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), Argentina; and MoMA, New York, United States.

Labö was born in Belém, PA, Brazil (1995) and Rafaela Kennedy in Manaus, AM, Brazil (1994). The duo develops collaborative works, frequently realized in photographs, creating visual narratives from natural and cultural elements of their hometowns. Labö, who works mainly with clothing, sculptures, and installations, joins forces with Kennedy, whose research is anchored in photography, fashion, and performance, to propose moments of emancipation for dissident and non-normative bodies, using the Amazonian landscape as a backdrop. Challenging fixed notions about ecology, technology, and gender, their collaborations present complex garments made with organic materials, fusing elements of the everyday with the fantastic. They participated in the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art (2024) and are part of the collection of MAM São Paulo.

Laura Vinci was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1962). She holds a degree in Fine Arts from FAAP (1987) and a master's degree in Fine Arts from the University of São Paulo (2000). She is a multimedia artist working with sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, and installations. She has worked in set design and artistic direction for numerous plays, including productions at Teatro Oficina, where she also participated in the Residency Project (2000–2001). In her artistic practice, space presents itself as a complex element, mediating the relationships between the body and the passage of time. Exploring the mutability and ephemerality of matter, she encourages the public to engage with the environment, proposing new perceptions. She participated in the 26th São Paulo Biennial (2004) and exhibited the work *Folhas avulsas e galhos* in a solo exhibition at the glass room of MAM São Paulo (2019). His works are present in collections such as those of the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM), Inhotim, the Rio Art Museum (MAR), and the São Paulo State Art Gallery (Pinacoteca).

Lenora de Barros was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1953). A visual artist and poet, she graduated in Linguistics from the University of São Paulo in the late 1970s, the same period in which she began her artistic career. Influenced by conceptual art, pop art, and Brazilian concrete art groups, she produces works that liberate the word beyond the pages through speech, writing, collage, performance, photography, video, and installation, reinterpreting paradigms of the concrete art movement from the perspective of gender and the body. She also worked as a photography editor for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and as art director for Placar magazine. She exhibited visual poems at the 17th São Paulo Biennial (1983) in a section dedicated to videotext and returned to the exhibition at the 24th and 30th editions of the event (1998 and 2013). She presented Retromemória in the glass room of MAM São Paulo (2022), a metallic sculpture with mirrors that reflected writing on the wall, directly dialoguing with Louise Bourgeois's work Aranha (1996) – exhibited for about 20 years in the same location. Her work is part of important collections, such as those of MAM São Paulo, Centro Cultural São Paulo (CCSP), and the Museu d'Art Contemporani in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

Lothar Charoux was born in Vienna, Austria (1912), and died in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1987). He settled in Brazil in 1928 and studied at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, where he also taught drawing. After an initial phase focused on portraits and landscapes, he began to explore abstract themes and co-founded, in 1952, the Grupo Ruptura, a leading group in Brazilian concretism. His work is characterized by lines crafted with light and visual rhythm, especially evident in his experiments that combine optical depth with geometric compositions. He founded the Associação de Artes Visuais Novas Tendências (1963) and was the subject of retrospectives at the MAM São Paulo and MAM Rio (1974). He participated in several editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1979 and 1980), and in the first nine editions of the São Paulo Biennial (1951–1967).

Gisela Motta and Leandro Lima were born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1976). They graduated in Fine Arts from FAAP (1999), where they met and began their collaboration in 1997. They develop a joint practice that moves between video, photography, and installation, frequently exploring constructive systems and technical devices. Their works investigate the mechanisms of image production, often through artificial structures and constructions that produce optical or spatial effects. Their works are part of institutional collections such as those of MAM São Paulo, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Acervo Sesc de Arte, Instituto Inhotim, Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz, Museu Nacional da República, and Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Goiás.

Nelson Leirner was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1932) and died in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (2020). Son of the sculptor Felícia Leirner and the businessman and collector Isaí Leirner, both involved in the founding of the MAM São Paulo (Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo), he grew up in an environment close to the artistic milieu. He developed a prolific career marked by institutional critique and an ironic, restless, and sarcastic stance towards the art system. He worked with painting, drawing, printmaking, installation, happenings, and objects, frequently appropriating images and materials from mass culture. In many works, he reorganizes these elements into cumulative and ironic compositions that question market values, authorship, and the very notion of a work of art. In 1966, he co-founded, along with other artists, the Rex Group, which created the Rex Gallery & Sons and the Rex Time newspaper as alternatives to traditional institutions. In the 1970s and 1980s, she deepened her conceptual work, encouraging public participation and reflection on art circuits. From the 1980s onwards, she also taught at FAAP and the School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage. She participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1972, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1999 and 2008). Her works are part of institutional collections such as those of MAM São Paulo, MASP, Acervo Sesc de Arte, MAC USP and Pinacoteca de São Paulo.

Paulo Bruscky was born in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil (1949). He studied Social Communication at the Catholic University of Pernambuco (Unicap), a background that led to an artistic practice focused on the circulation of messages and the means of reproducing and disseminating information. He is one of the leading names in conceptual art and mail art in Brazil, working in diverse languages ​​and media, such as photography, performance, visual poetry, video, and xerography. His work investigates the boundaries between art, language, and technology, using resources such as stamps, fax machines, and Super-8 films to explore the links between body, machine, and discourse. His solo exhibitions, Art is our Last Hope, at the Bronx Museum in the United States (2013), and Paulo Bruscky, at MAM São Paulo (2014), are particularly noteworthy. She also participated in the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), and in several editions of the São Paulo Biennial (1981, 1989, 2004 and 2010) and the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1984, 2001, 2005 and 2008). Her works are part of collections such as those of the MAM São Paulo, the Sesc Art Collection, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, and the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, United States.

Paulo Nenflídio was born in São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil (1976). He holds degrees in Fine Arts from the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo (2004) and in Electronics from the Lauro Gomes State Technical School (1994). The artist creates sculptures, installations, objects, and drawings. Through the union of visual arts, music, and technology, Nenflídio produces what he calls "contraptions" that resemble animals, instruments, and machines emerging from science fiction. He has participated in several group exhibitions at the MAM São Paulo, such as Diálogos com Palatnik (2004) and the 30th Panorama of Brazilian Art (2007). His works are part of the collections of institutions such as MAM São Paulo, MAC USP, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu da Energia, Inhotim, Centro Cultural São Paulo (CCSP), and MAM Rio.

Pedro Motta was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil (1977), where he lives and works. A graduate in Design from the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2002), he uses photography as a medium for his work, which stems from an interest in the relationships between nature, culture, individuals, and the city. Sometimes intervening in the images with collages, drawings, and natural materials – such as earth – Motta seeks out anonymous monuments and sculptures in the landscape, forms that possess a certain obstruction of their original configuration. He has published the books *Temprano*, by Funarte (2010), and *Natureza das Coisas*, by Editora Ubu (2018). He participated in the 32nd Panorama of Brazilian Art (2011). His works are present in collections such as those of the MAM São Paulo, MAM Rio, MAM Bahia, Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), and Itaú Cultural.

Rodrigo Andrade was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (1962). He began his artistic career studying engraving at Sérgio Fingermann's studio in São Paulo (1977) and drawing with Carlos Fajardo. He attended the Studio of Graphic Arts in Scotland (1978) and participated in engraving and painting courses at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1981–1982). He was one of the founders of the important São Paulo artistic group Casa 7 in the 1980s. Known primarily for his work as a painter, Andrade creates works on different scales, both abstract and figurative, which share the common use of contrasting colors and broad brushstrokes. At the turn of the 21st century, his practice underwent changes, leaning towards geometric abstraction and recovering his training as a graphic artist. He developed a Wall Project for the MAM São Paulo (2000) and participated in editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1995, 2005 and 2008). His works are part of the collections of important institutions, such as MAM São Paulo, Acervo Sesc de Arte, Itaú Cultural, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC USP) and Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

Rodrigo Braga was born in Manaus, AM, Brazil (1976). He moved to Recife as a child, where he graduated in Visual Arts from the Federal University of Pernambuco (2002). His artistic practice consists of recording actions through photography and video, proposing interactions between organic and inorganic elements, blurring the boundaries between the real and the fantastic. Sometimes starting from immersions in natural landscapes, he interconnects the human body with elements such as animals, stones, earth, water, and plants, creating symbolic equivalences between different subjects. His works indirectly address central political issues in the socio-environmental debate, exposing the conflictual relationship between humanity and nature. He participated in the exhibitions 30th São Paulo Biennial (2012) and 30x Biennial (2013). His works are in collections in Brazil and abroad, such as MAM São Paulo, MAM Rio, and the Maison Européenne de La Photographie in Paris, France.

Rosângela Rennó was born in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil (1962). A multidisciplinary artist and photographer, she lives and works in Rio de Janeiro. She holds degrees in Architecture from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (1986) and in Fine Arts from the Guignard School (1987), and a doctorate in Arts from the University of São Paulo (1997). Through the appropriation of discarded images collected in streets, markets, and antique shops, Rennó redefines the function of photography, establishing dialogues between memory and forgetting. The recontextualization of images in her photographs, objects, videos, installations, and books allows the public to reflect on the social function of representations, symbols, and narratives, challenging the objective reality attributed to photography. She participated in editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1997 and 2005) and the São Paulo Biennial (1994, 1998, and 2010). His works are part of important national and international collections, such as those of the MAM São Paulo, MASP, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Centre Georges Pompidou in France; the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, United States; and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain.

Rubens Gerchman was born in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (1942) and died in São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2008). He attended drawing classes at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios in Rio de Janeiro (1957) and studied at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro (1960–1961). He lived in New York (1968–1972) after being awarded a prize by the Salão Nacional de Arte Moderna and was director of the then Instituto de Belas Artes da Escola de Artes Visuais, known today as the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage. A painter, engraver, sculptor, and draftsman, Gerchman was an important Brazilian artist linked to the influences of Pop Art in Brazil, in addition to contributing to the Concrete Art, Neo-Concrete Art, and New Figuration movements. In his works, he appropriated icons from football, television, and politics, creating colorful portraits of the metropolis and its problems through the union of anonymous figures and elements of urban life. He held retrospective exhibitions at MAM São Paulo and MAM Rio (1973) and participated in numerous editions of the Panorama of Brazilian Art (1973, 1974, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1989 and 1993). His works are present in collections such as MAM São Paulo, MAM Rio, Sesc Art Collection, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and the Toronto Art Museum, in Canada.

Sara Ramo was born in Madrid, Spain (1975). A graduate in Visual Arts from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), the artist reinterprets everyday objects by placing them in unusual locations and transforming them into installations, sculptures, or assemblages to explore new ways of seeing and dealing with reality and the relationship between the visible and the invisible. Among her exhibitions, we highlight the solo show lindaviejalocabruja at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain (2019); her participation in two Panoramas of Brazilian Art (2003 and 2011); and in two editions of the São Paulo Biennial (2010 and 2019).

Xadalu Tupã Jekupe was born in Alegrete, RS, Brazil (1985). He lives and works in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. An indigenous artist of Guarani origin, he works with painting, screen printing, photography, and installation, drawing from the legacy of the Guarani Mission Baroque and the processes of catechization and cultural erasure of the original peoples of the Gaucho pampas. Addressing the tensions between indigenous and Western culture in cities, Jekupe creates narratives that intertwine myth, spirituality, and history. He has participated in artistic residencies in numerous countries, including Chile, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. He participated in the 37th Panorama of Brazilian Art (2022). His works are part of the collections of institutions such as MAM São Paulo, the Museum of Indigenous Cultures, the National Museum of Fine Arts, and the Iberê Camargo Foundation.

Euzimar Meireles Gomes was born in Matinha, MA, Brazil (1959). His work stems from his vital connection to Bumba Meu Boi, an important cultural manifestation of the Baixada Maranhense region, where he lives and works. Besides being an artist, Zimar is a participant in the Boi Meu Boi and embodies the character Cazumbá, a mysterious, mischievous, and unpredictable figure who wears detailed ornaments and masks – also called “caretas” or “queixos” (masks). Using different materials such as PVC, sawdust, rubber, bones, recyclable materials, helmets, and bicycle parts, Zimar began producing his own masks in the early 2000s, seeking to make them more comfortable to wear. By mixing human and animal forms, the artist renewed the tradition of Cazumbá masks, creating fantastic and expressive characters. She participated in the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art (2024–2025) and her works are part of the collections of MAM São Paulo, Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo and Museu de Arte Popular Casa do Pontal.