HOUSTON.- On the occasion of the recent acquisition of The Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art by the MFAH, Concretismo and Neoconcretismo: Fifty Years Later assesses the state of research on the avant-garde artists and groups that constituted this critical chapter of post-War art in Brazil. The art world’s discovery of Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica in the 1990s has led to a greater interest and exploration of less well-known artists and movements that have shaped this historic period. In addition, there has been an increased urgency for more critical research on this important period of Brazilian avant-garde art.

Bringing together a distinguished group of artists, critics, and scholars, Concretismo and Neoconcretismo seeks to generate updated frameworks and new lines of investigation for the interpretation of these interrelated tendencies. The starting point for this historiographic revision will be the testimonies presented by some of the earliest participants of these groups as well as by the critics who first identified their contributions in relation to both the Latin American avant-garde and international modes of abstraction.

This international colloquium is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection, on view at the MFAH through Sunday, September 23, 2007, that gathers together more than a hundred artworks.

Colloquium Chairs: Ana María Belluzzo, Universidade de São Paulo and FAPESP, São Paulo; Mari Carmen Ramírez, International Center for the Arts of the Americas at the MFAH.

Participants: Francisco Alambert, Universidade de São Paulo; Aracy Amaral, independent scholar and curator, São Paulo; Yve-Alain Bois, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton University, New Jersey; Ronaldo Brito, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Paulo Sérgio Duarte, Universidade Cândido Mendes, Rio de Janeiro; Maria Amalia García, Universidad de Buenos Aires/CONICET; Héctor Olea, writer and ICAA Publications and Translations Editor, Houston; Luiz Camilo Osório, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Ann Reynolds, The University of Texas at Austin; Nicolau Sevcenko, Universidade de São Paulo and Harvard University; Paulo Venâncio Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Alexandre Wollner, artist and graphic designer, São Paulo.

The presentations will be delivered in English, Portuguese or Spanish. Simultaneous translation will be available.

Reserved seating only, registration is required. For more information, reservations, and travel information, please contact Sonia Montoya at 713-639-7308, or by e-mail at smontoya@mfah.org.

Concretismo and Neoconcretismo: Fifty Years Later is organized by The International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil through the project Arte no Brasil: Textos Críticos Século 20.

Concretismo and Neoconcretismo receives generous funding from Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Dean of Humanities, Rice University

The exhibition Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection is organized by the MFAH. Generous support is provided by Mr. Samuel F. Gorman and Macy’s.