From the Object to the World – Inhotim Collection
12 December 2014–8 March 2015
Palácio das Artes
Av. Afonso Pena, 1.537, Centro
Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais
Brazil
Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Fotografia
Av. Afonso Pena, 737, Centro
Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais
Brazil
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 9:30am–9pm, Sunday 4pm–9pm
T + 55 31 3236 7400
Palácio das Artes and Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Fotografia in Belo Horizonte are hosting the exhibition Do Objeto para o Mundo – Coleção Inhotim (From the Object to the World – Inhotim Collection). This traveling show marks the first time that a part of Instituto Inhotim’s collection has left the institute’s facilities in Brumadinho (MG). Featuring over 50 artworks, most of which never shown before at Inhotim grounds, dating from the 1950s up to the present day, the exhibition is composed of a cross-section of the collection, and examines the field of contemporary art, in the light of the institution’s collection and programs, which first opened to the general public in 2006. Co-produced by Fundação Clóvis Salgado, the show will run until March 8, 2015, after which it will travel onward to São Paulo, opening at Itaú Cultural in April 2015. It will be free to enter at all touring venues.
The exhibition focuses on a historical moment when art expanded beyond objects to become more open to the world. In this context, elements from daily life, from real space, from politics and the body are incorporated into art and the spectator becomes a participant. For Rodrigo Moura—Inhotim’s Director of Art and Cultural Programs—this is an opportunity for audiences to get to know the institute’s collection. “They are works that point out possible paths in the history of art over the last 50 years, which have allowed Inhotim to be what it is,” he explains.
In the main gallery of Palácio das Artes, historical works are placed in dialogue with more recent ones. Organized in four segments, the exhibition path begins with the neo-concretism of Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark and Lygia Pape, passes through the conceptual geometry of Channa Horwitz, Cildo Meireles and David Lamelas as well as through the avant-garde works of the Gutai group, which arose in Japan during years immediately following the second World War, and ends with action art and the presence of the body in art, exemplified by the work of Chris Burden. Works by Gabriel Sierra, Jac Leirner, Cinthia Marcelle, and others offer a counterpoint to historical works and documents on display.
The galleries on the lower level feature bigger-scale installations by Ernesto Neto, Jorge Macchi, Mauro Restiffe, Melanie Smith, Rivane Neuenschwander and Thomas Hirschhorn. At the Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Fotografia, a historical building in the city’s downtown region, the video installation Homo sapiens sapiens (2005) by Pipilotti Rist, will be shown for the first time in Brazil. Filmed at Inhotim before the park was opened to the general public, the work explores the institute’s garden and creates an immersive environment that encourages the visitor to lie back and absorb the images projected on the ceiling.
From the Body to the Earth
The exhibition’s title refers to the event Do Corpo à Terra (From the Body to the Earth), which took place during the inauguration of the Palácio das Artes, in April 1970. Organized by critic Frederico Morais, today it is considered a milestone in the investigations concerning the environmental and experimentalist art of the avant-garde movement in Brazil. Two productions made on that occasion are part of the show: Ação no Parque Municipal (Action at the Municipal Park) 1970, by Décio Noviello, and Situação T/T 1 – Belo Horizonte (Situation T/T 1 – Belo Horizonte), 1970, by Artur Barrio.
Curated by Rodrigo Moura and Inês Grosso
Press information – Instituto Inhotim
Malu Gonçalves, malu.goncalves [at] inhotim.org.br / +55 31 3194 7322 / + 55 31 9765 2470