Work by Pedro Paulo da Conceição that is on display. PHOTO: Disclosure

About two and a half years after the closing – due to lack of resources – of the Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf do Brasil (Mian), the Rio de Janeiro public could once again see part of the institution’s collection in the great exhibition. Naïve Art – No Museum Less, at the Parque Lage School of Visual Arts.

In the exhibition, curated by Ulisses Carrilho, works from the Mian collection dialogue with other contemporary art by more than 30 artists, including Nelson Leirner, Barrão, Marcos Chaves, Erika Verzutti and Leda Catunda.

The so-called “naïf art” – from the French, naïve – refers to a genre guided by the self-education of artists such as Dalton Paula, Heitor dos Prazeres, Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, Odoteres Ricardo de Ozias and Agostinho Batista de Freitas, among others. This definition, however, came to be questioned over time, as it is an imprecise categorization that demonstrates a certain prejudice with “non-erudite” art.

With around 300 pieces, the show is also an “exhibition-manifesto” that “marks a position of EAV do Parque Lage in favor of Brazilian cultural institutions and their freedom of expression”, according to the exhibition's presentation text.

“In 2018, Brazil suffered the greatest museological catastrophe in its history, with irreparable losses for humanity: the fire at the National Museum. According to the Brazilian Institute of Museums, there are today, in Brazil, 261 museums closed due to lack of funds and maintenance. This number represents 7% of the universe of 3.789 institutions in the country. Parque Lage's EAV defends cultural institutions and exhibition spaces as learning zones, territories of confrontation and doubt, of teaching and exchange of knowledge”, says the text.

Naïve Art – No Museum Less

School of Visual Arts – Rua Jardim Botânico, 414, Rio de Janeiro

Until 7/7

Free admission


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