Eight decades of Informal Abstraction in the collections of Instituto Casa Roberto Marinho and Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo

Abstract art began to be practiced in Brazil in the 1940s. Since the beginning, two lines emerged: informal abstraction and geometric abstraction. Informal abstraction is characterized by the expression of gestures by the artist, whether in the materials of painting or in sculpture; as a result, the style of each artist becomes very singular.

Geometric abstraction, on the other hand, is based on universal principles of mathematics and geometry, creating a more collective identity.

The artists who practiced informal abstraction in Brazil did not constitute permanent groups, since the singularity of each of their styles outweighed the general principles. Thus, in informal abstraction there is no school, as there is in geometric abstraction, which led to the formation of various groups such as Ruptura, Frente, and Neoconcreto. Likewise, there were no outstanding art critics who represented the informal artists, while there were those who defended geometric abstraction and accused informal abstraction of excessive subjectivism.

Nevertheless, informal abstraction sowed in Brazil an extensive field of gestural art and of the exploration of the material in the artwork. By bringing together two of the most important collections in Brazil, that of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo and that of the Instituto Casa Roberto Marinho, we evidence the longstanding power of informal abstraction throughout the last eight decades. Despite recurring attacks against the informal as well as the fads that espoused geometric art, the artists who practiced informal abstraction in Brazil evince the consistency of their unique styles, their radicality in the exploration of the artistic material, and the visual lyricism of their compositions.

We invite the public for a fresh encounter with eight decades of informal abstraction in Brazil.

Felipe Chaimovich e Lauro Cavalcanti