How is an art exhibition constructed? What is the role of a collection curator? In the 69th edition of the program Itaú Cultural Occupation, we are invited to learn about the trajectory of one of the most important art researchers in Brazil, the curator, cultural manager, art critic and artist Paulo Herkenhoff.

The exhibition – curated by Leno Veras and the team of Itaú Cultural – presents documents, photographs, books, works of art and several of his notebooks to focus on three fundamental aspects of Paulo's work: collecting, curating exhibitions and editing art publications.

Born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, our honoree's work is marked by in-depth research into the history of art, culture, and their protagonists; by the weaving of knowledge networks and structuring actions in museums and organizations where he works, always concerned with strengthening the foundations that sustain cultural institutions, ensuring their longevity and permanence. As a manager and critic, he is committed to building collections and critical analyses that truly examine and represent the multiplicity that constitutes the country and the transmission of its inherent knowledge.

As a young man, still in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Paulo Herkenhoff grew up immersed in a school created and managed by his family. It was there that he began working in the library at age 10, taught classes at 14, and curated his first exhibition, an exhibition dedicated to the state of Paraíba, at age 6. He attended the Cachoeiro de Itapemirim Art School, founded by Isabel Braga in 1950, and in the 1970s, he studied with artist Ivan Serpa. It was also while studying under Serpa that Paulo began his artistic career. His reception was immediate, earning awards at the PUC-Rio University Salon, the Summer Salon, the New Values ​​exhibition, and the XNUMXth Young Contemporary Art. In that same decade, he participated in the Venice Biennale and the Paris Biennale.

His dream, since his youth, was to work in diplomacy, which led him to pursue a law degree, a career he would set aside years later to dedicate himself to culture and art. He was Chief Curator of the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art (MAM/RJ), Cultural Director of the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Art (MAR), and also worked at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA), and many other organizations in Brazil and abroad. He was responsible for curatorial projects that have become part of Brazilian art history, such as the 24th São Paulo International Biennial, known as the "Biennale of Anthropophagy"; the Brazilian Pavilion at the 47th Venice Biennale (Italy); the Salão Arte Pará, in dozens of editions; Tempo, at MoMA (New York); and the "Vantade Construtiva" (Constructive Will) exhibition at the Fadel Collection, at MAM-RJ; among others. At Itaú Cultural, he curated the exhibitions Investigations: the artist's work (2000), Trajectory of Light in Brazilian Art (2001), Chaos and Effect (2011), Ways of Seeing Brazil: 30 years of Itaú Cultural (2017) and Sandra Cinto: from Ideas in the Head to Eyes in the Sky (2020).

In addition to the exhibition, Ocupação Paulo Herkenhoff has a website and a publication – available on the opening date – that expand and deepen the content covered in the exhibition, with texts by the honoree himself, as well as testimonies from partners and researchers about the legacy of his work for Brazilian art.

O Ministry of Culture, through the Federal Law of Incentive to Culture (Rouanet Law), and the Tomie Ohtake Institute present the exhibition Earth, fire, water and winds – For a Museum of Wandering with Édouard Glissant. Conceived as a museum in motion and dedicated to the work and thought of the Martinican poet, philosopher and essayist Edouard Glissant (1928–2011), the exhibition is part of the France-Brazil 2025 Season as one of its main highlights.

With its title inspired by the poetry anthology La Terre, le feu, l'eau et les vents (2010), organized by the Martinican writer, the exhibition essays what a "Museum of Wandering" might look like. Wandering is an experience of Relation: it rejects singular affiliations and proposes the museum as an archipelago—a space of ruptures, erasures, and reinventions without forced synthesis. Against rigid genealogies, it proposes a memory in transit, made of provisional alliances, translations, and tremors—an institutional process driven by the encounter between times, territories, and languages. Although Glissant left fragments of his vision for a 21st-century museum, he never realized it.

The exhibition imagines what this Museum of Wandering could look like, with its multiple layers and unexpected connections between works, documents, and landscapes. The two key ideas behind the exhibition's organization are the word of the landscape and the landscape of the word, conceived from Glissant's concept of "parole du paysage." For the poet, the landscape is not merely an external setting, but an active force that shapes memories, gestures, and languages.

Furthermore, other ideas are present in the author's phrases, manuscripts and interviews, such as Everyone, creolization, archipelago, tremor, opacity, word of the landscape e here thereThis is a series of interconnected issues with profound relevance in the contemporary world, which once again finds itself permeated by discourses and measures of intolerance towards diversity and incapable of creating channels for listening to the natural elements and landscapes threatened with destruction.

It is against this backdrop that part of the personal collection assembled by Glissant and currently preserved at the Mémorial ACTe in Guadeloupe is presented for the first time in Brazil. The collection includes paintings, sculptures, and engravings by artists with whom the thinker lived and wrote, such as Wifredo Lam, Robert Mattea, Agustin Cardenas, Antonio Segui, Enrique Zañartu, José Gamarra, Victor Brauner and Victor Anicet, among others. They are artists of growing international recognition, who have lived through diaspora and immigration, and who have produced works in transit between languages, languages, landscapes, and multiple histories.

The collection of works includes documents, notebooks, videos, and fragments of texts and interviews by Glissant, also previously unpublished. The exhibition also features excerpts from the extensive interview given in 2008 to Patrick Chamoiseau, Martinican writer and intellectual partner of Glissant, which resulted in the monumental ABC-book.

This extensive and rich collection is presented in dialogue with works by more than 30 contemporary artists from the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Asia, inviting the public to experience, in a sensorial way, the intertwining of landscape, language, and memory.

The exhibition is part of the Tomie Ohtake Institute's long-term research into the production of memory, and follows on from recent initiatives such as the exhibition Rehearsals for the Museum of Origins (2023) and the seminar Essays for the Museum of Origins – Politics of Memory (2024), which brought together representatives from museums, archives and communities in an intense debate on preservation and citizenship.

Ailton krenak Over the years, he established himself as one of the leading voices for the Indigenous cause in Brazil and abroad. His career fueled a collective movement to rethink the world, bringing issues such as humanity, nature, spirituality, and the future to the forefront of debate.

A historic milestone occurred in 1987, when he painted his face with genipap during a speech at the Constituent Assembly, a gesture that became a symbol of resistance, a reminder that indigenous peoples exist, resist, and have much to say.

A Ailton Krenak Occupation, held by Itaú Cultural (IC), celebrates this journey. Born in 1953, in the Vale do Rio Doce (MG), he is the author of fundamental works that have become references in times of crisis, such as Ideas for postponing the end of the world, life is not useful e Ancestral future. In addition to literary production, Ailton was responsible for important initiatives, such as the creation of Indian Program, from Indigenous Newspaper and the Indigenous Culture Center (NCI), which expanded and strengthened the voice of indigenous peoples.

The exhibition occupies the ground floor of the IC and presents testimonies, manuscripts, and records of a life dedicated to exploring paths outside the logic of consumption and destruction. The project also includes a printed publication (available Online) it is a website with exclusive content (itaucultural.org.br/ocupacao).

In addition to the tribute dimension, this Occupation – a word that in the Krenak language translates as Men am-ním – is an invitation to slow down, conceive of other horizons and decolonize our perspective.

Portraying the marvelous city through the strength of northeastern art, the Chácara do Céu Museum – located in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro – opens its doors to the unprecedented exhibition 'Cyrus' River: The City in Woodcuts'.

With free entry, the program celebrates the trajectory of the visual artist Ciro Fernandes and his passion for Rio de Janeiro, through 76 original works that range from the ancient technique of woodcuts to other styles, such as paintings, engravings, lithographs and India ink.

Designed for everyone—art lovers, tourists, and locals seeking an enriching cultural experience—the exhibition features works that engage with the region's popular narratives and reveal the versatility of wood engraver, painter, illustrator, writer, and luthier Ciro Fernandes, using a variety of visual languages.

The opening, which will take place from 12 pm to 16:30 pm on October 18, will feature a special reception for journalists, friends, admirers and well-known figures from the art scene, including a cocktail party and exclusive interviews with Ciro Fernandes.

Also during the opening ceremony, guests will enjoy a unique performance of Brazilian music, bringing the sounds of Rio de Janeiro into dialogue with the exhibition's visual experience. Guitarist and composer Jean Charnaux will perform a special performance featuring stunning views of Rio de Janeiro.

Distributed across different thematic sections, the exhibition begins with 'Ciro's Rio: A Love Affair,' which portrays the artist's arrival in Rio de Janeiro and his passion for the city, with works that capture the urban cycle and daily life of Rio residents. The next section, 'Lapa and Its Mysteries,' reveals the neighborhood's bohemian and cultural atmosphere, highlighting iconic figures such as Madame Satã and immortalizing the diversity and essence of its streets.

The exhibition continues to connect the public with its northeastern roots through the sections 'The Cordelista Tradition Arrives in the Marvelous City', which narrates how the artist revived woodcuts in the capital's urban cordels; and 'The Exuberant Nature of Ciro' (Immersive Room), which transports visitors into a glass room with the artist's works in the form of 'lambe-lambes' and stickers, allowing the works to interact with the panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro.

Integrating different formats, the exhibition is not limited to woodcuts, but also includes acrylic paintings on canvas; engravings and lithographs; illustrations; Indian ink art; as well as covers of cordéis, LPs, newspaper articles and books by great writers illustrated by the artist.

Attendees will also be able to gain inspiration and immerse themselves in Ciro Fernandes' creative landscape through the display of his work tools, such as the press, carving materials, and the wooden dies used for the works. These tools helped dictate the varying dimensions of the works, with the smallest measuring 28 x 32 cm and the largest measuring 90 x 220 cm.

Within the exhibition, visitors will be able to contemplate works such as Cardeal (Woodcut – Year 2022 – 96 x 33 cm); Massacre da Candelária (Acrylic paint on canvas – Year 1990 – 80 x 120 cm); São Jorge Ogum (Woodcut – Year – 65 x 160 cm); Além de Amanhecer (Woodcut – Year 2022 – 28 x 38 cm), Lapa (Woodcut – Year 1979 – 65 x 96 cm), and Madame Satã (Woodcut – Year 1979 – 64 x 47 cm).

As a way to democratize access to culture, the exhibition will feature four workshops for children from public schools in the Santa Teresa region. Using recycled material prints (Tetrapack), the workshops offer playful and cultural activities for children, exploring Rio de Janeiro's natural beauty and exploring the city's birdlife, reflecting Ciro Fernandes' inspiration.

Accessibility and inclusion in the national exhibition 'O Rio de Ciro'

Expanding access to art, the exhibition will feature tools that make the works more accessible to visitors. The existing matrices have tactile parts that allow for touch; the space is filled with Braille plaques for wall texts, audio descriptions, and extended captions for the main works. The event will also offer guided tours with specialized instructors on specific days.

The exhibition is curated by Mariana Lannes, director of cultural production and creator of artistic projects, with national experience in music, visual arts, popular culture and social impact; and Alessandro Zoe, founder of the artistic management firm CRIVO, with over 8 years of experience leading cultural productions in theater, music and visual arts.

Ciro Fernandes, at the ripe old age of 83, is one of the greatest names in the Brazilian art scene, considered a living legacy of woodcut art in the country. With a career marked by his expressive lines, originality, and commitment to preserving Northeastern traditions, Ciro continues to inspire new generations to expand the boundaries of folk art.

The project is covered by the Pró-Carioca notice, a program to promote Rio de Janeiro culture, from the City of Rio de Janeiro, through the Municipal Department of Culture.

A Kovak & Vieira Gallery, located in Jardins, São Paulo, opens solo exhibitions “Suspended Moments”, Alexandre Skaff, and "Path", Rafael Calazans, known as Highraff. Curated by Luiza Testa, both remain open to the public, with free entry, until November 22th, 2025.

Although distinct in technique and language, the two exhibitions come together poetically by addressing perceptions, memories, and feelings that span the time and experience of each artist—creating meeting points between past, present, and subjectivity.

Alexandre Skaff — The poetics of the instant

Em “Suspended Moments”, Alexandre Skaff presents 12 oil paintings on canvas that capture fragments of everyday life and transform the ordinary into poetry. Drawing from his personal archive of photographs, the artist seeks to capture the ephemeral moment—a gesture of resistance to the acceleration of contemporary time.

Trained in architecture, Skaff brings his keen eye for light, composition, and space to painting, creating layers that simultaneously evoke the materiality of life and the delicacy of memory.

As the curator notes Luiza Testa, "Layers of memory overlap, creating a sense of current nostalgia. We are challenged to distinguish what is the past revisited under the mature gaze of life and what resonates with our own history."

Highraff — From urban to symbolic

Em "Path", Highraff presents 15 unpublished works that mark a turning point in his career. Recognized for his work in the world of street art., the artist brings to the studio an aesthetic that unites graphic design, geometric abstraction, kinetic art and symbology.

Second Luiza Testa, “The path marks a bend in his trajectory: it is the moment when he moves from the streets to the studio; this is accompanied by the consolidation of mathematics and geometry, which take a place previously dominated by intuition.”

The series reflects a spiritual and symbolic search, in which geometric shapes gain new density and meaning — revealing the balance between rationality and emotion that permeates the artist's research.

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A Station Gallery presents the exhibition "I am Silva.", dedicated to the work of José Antônio da Silva, one of the great names in 20th-century Brazilian art. The exhibition celebrates the artist's international success and marks the touring of the exhibition. "Painting Brazil"which began at the Musée de Grenoble in France, opening the Brazil-France Cultural Year 2025, and continued at the Iberê Camargo Foundation in Porto Alegre. Now, part of this celebration is coming to... USP Contemporary Art Museum, accompanied by a new selection of works from the Galeria Estação collection and private collectors.

Curated by Paulo PastaThe exhibition revisits Silva's legacy, whose painting remains vibrant and relevant, constantly reinterpreted by new generations. His work transcends the label of "primitive" and reaffirms the artist as a creator of his own language—someone who reinvented Brazilian painting by uniting form and content, reality and imagination, life and art. His trajectory reflects an incessant search for the authentic expression of the landscape, culture, and people of the Brazilian interior.

Silva has always recognized himself as an interpreter of nature and rural life, transforming everyday scenes into poetic and symbolic images. In his painting, the real and the fantastic coexist, revealing a unique perception of landscape transformation and the tensions between progress and tradition. This current reading of his work also resonates with contemporary concerns about the environment and cultural identity.

More than a retrospective, "I am Silva" It is an affirmation of the strength and relevance of his painting. The exhibition invites the public to rediscover an artist who learned from his own experience and who knew how to transform the popular into aesthetic sophistication. Bringing together works rarely seen in São Paulo, the show reaffirms José Antônio da Silva as one of the great visual interpreters of Brazil.

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