Cartas de São Paulo

Resuming the title of the correspondence letters about the art scene in São Paulo, in particular about the São Paulo Biennial, published between 1959 and 1996, in the magazine Colóquio Artes (Arts Colloquium) of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), this exhibition reflects upon the presence of more than two hundred Portuguese artists in successive São Paulo biennials.

This collection not only shapes a history of Portuguese art, the one that Portugal was able to project and also that the Brazilian audience was able to build over the years, but also enlightens the historical, political, institutional and cultural nuances that have determined these choices and exchanges.

The exhibition, built in an experimental format, originated from a PhD research in process, includes documents and content from the MAC USP –Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo, the historical archive Wanda Swevo and the Gulbenkian Art Library, as well as a site-specific work of Portuguese artist Mafalda Santos, which recalls and embodies this history.