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29/9/2005

5th Mercosul Biennial

Different Venues , Porto Alegre

Histories of Art and Space

Curated by Paulo Sergio Duarte

From September 30 to December 4, the south of Brazil has a meeting with Latin American Art

In its 5th edition, the Mercosul Biennial consolidates itself as the biggest exhibition specializing in Latin American Art. Organised by the Mercosul Visual Arts Foundation, the show provides thousands of people with access to contemporary art. The event takes place from September 30 to December 4, in Porto Alegre/RS Brazil, and will bring together 173 artists from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The curatorial project, Histories of Art and Space, led by Paulo Sergio Duarte, will comprise four thematic vectors – From Sculpture to Installation, Transformations of the Public Space, Directions in the New Space, and The Persistence of Painting. The artists will not be organised by political or geographical borders: all nationalities will be placed into the vectors that make up the exhibition.

The show attempts to reconcile a current question – the problem of space – with historical tradition. "The production of contemporary art since the 1960s has been developing innumerable experiments related to space, from criticism of the institutional space of the museum and gallery, to urban space, to the great spaces of nature," emphasizes Duarte. "The notion of space has undergone changes and transformations, confronted with new means of transport, new technologies of communication and the growing process of urbanization itself. Space today, in addition to being present in art, is part of the everyday life of people: at home, work, leisure and in everyday movement," he adds.

According to the general curator, one of the pioneering countries in showing works known as installations was Brazil, with the Tropicália of Hélio Oiticica in 1967. "At that time installations were called environments. Oiticica thought that contemplation or even participation in the work was not enough, and were experiences that he thought worn out and insufficient. It was necessary to be immersed in the work. The spectator had to get inside the works, and try it with their senses: looking, touch, smell, and hearing," explains Duarte. "Hélio, with other artists of his period like Lygia Clark, Whitehead and Nam June Paik, revolutionized the conception of the artwork in space."

There will be a homage to the sculptor from Minas Gerais, Amílcar de Castro, who died in 2002 and was one of the greatest Brazilian sculptors of the second half of the 20th century. Amílcar left Brazil an artistic legacy that will be assembled in its totality for the first time. This will be the biggest retrospective of his work to date and perhaps the only opportunity to see it together. There will be 58 steel, stone and wood sculptures, and also 24 medium- and large-scale paintings, with a total participation of works from 44 public and private collections. There will also be a show of jewellery made by the artist, a display of videos and documentaries, and original and facsimiles of periodicals for which Amílcar did the graphic design and illustrations.

A special exhibition is also being organized: Frontiers of Language, with the participation of four invited artists from outside Latin America: Ilya Kabakov, Stephen Vitiello, Marina Abramovic and Pierre Coulibeuf.

A permanent education project has been designed to accompany the art exhibition, directed at continuous training and education for art, continuing even after the event. The project initially involves organizing training courses for 2,500 teachers and distribution of 4,000 kits to elementary schools. The organisation envisages direct benefits to more than 200,000 pupils, and 700,000 indirectly. In addition, 300 monitors for the exhibition space will be trained to act as support for guided visits.

The 5th Mercosul Biennial has main sponsorship from Gerdau, Petrobras and Santander Cultural. Refinaria Alberto Pasqualini - Refap is sponsoring the artist of honour. Other exhibition sponsors include Ipiranga, Lojas Renner and Vonpar. The invited artists will be sponsored by MasterCard and Souza Cruz. Segment sponsors are Ferramentas Gerais – Tools, and Varig, Official Airline. Support has also been confirmed from Blue Tree Towers, Digitel, Grupo Avipal, ICBNA, Maiojama, Master Hotéis, Nestlé, Perto, Plaza Hotéis, Porto Alegre Convention & Visitors Bureau, Randon and Tintas Renner. The Biennial is supported by the Ministry of Culture through the Rouanet Law, and the Rio Grande do Sul State Culture Secretariat through the Cultural Incentive Law (LIC). There is also institutional support from the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto del Gobierno de Argentina, and auditing by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Image: Work in progress, work by Diana Domingues

Opening: September 30, 2005

Location: Porto Alegre/RS Brazil
- Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul (Margs)
- Santander Cultural
- Usina do Gasômetro
- Port Quayside
- Largo Glênio Peres
- Guaíba Lakeside

Info:
Rua dos Andradas, 1234
10º andar - Sala 1008 - Porto Alegre/RS Brazil
Tel: 55 51 3228-4074
Fax: 55 51 3228-4074

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