Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
Arto Lindsay
Marepe
Ernesto Neto
Rivane Neuenschwander
Karin Schneider
Lygia Clark
Antonio Dias
Nelson Leirner
Helio Oiticica
Lygia Pape
The first comprehensive exhibition to explore one of the most significant chapters in modern cultural history, a period beginning in the late 1960s when daring experiments in Brazilian art, music, film, architecture and theater converged—and ignited. The impact of this period in contemporary art internationally is revealed through the inclusion of a younger generation of artists and musicians including Matthew Antezzo, assume vivid astro focus, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Arto Lindsay, Marepe, Ernesto Neto, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Karin Schneider.
A Revolution in Brazilian Culture
Tropica'lia is the first comprehensive exhibition to explore one of the most significant chapters in modern cultural history, a period beginning in the late 1960s when daring experiments in Brazilian art, music, film, architecture and theater converged—and ignited. Although suppressed by an increasingly oppressive military dictatorship, the moment produced a counterculture that has influenced successive generations of artists, even up to the present day.
The exhibition revisits this seminal time in Brazil through more than 250 objects. Highlighting major historical works from the 1967 New Brazilian Objectivity exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Tropica'lia features artists Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias, Nelson Leirner, He'lio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape, among others. Searching for their own identity, these artists were inspired by one of the founders of Brazilian modernism, Oswald de Andrade, and his concept of “cultural cannibalism." They sought to liberate their art from traditional European forms and cultural hierarchies and a narrow cultural elite. As a result, they often embraced an aesthetic of informality, interactivity, and cultural hybridity.
The title of the exhibition is drawn from an installation created by the influential artist He'lio Oiticica in 1967, as well as from the 1968 pop record, featuring Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and others, which became one of the most celebrated albums in Brazilian music.
The impact of this period in current Brazilian culture and contemporary art internationally is revealed through the inclusion of a younger generation of artists and musicians including Matthew Antezzo, assume vivid astro focus, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Arto Lindsay, Marepe, Ernesto Neto, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Karin Schneider, many of whom have created new works for the exhibition.
Tropica'lia Public Programs
Purchase the Tropica'lia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture catalogue
July 21, 2006 Press Release
Tropica'lia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture Arrives in New York
Tropica'lia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture is guest-curated by Carlos Basualdo, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and co-organized by The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and GabineteCultura, Sao Paolo. The international tour is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc.; GreySocialLink; and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by Etant donne's: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art. The Bronx Museum's presentation is made possible, in part, by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
October, 7, 2006
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Grand Concourse - New York
Hours: 12 - 6