Brazilian Modernism Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts

The Royal Academy of Arts in London is hosting 'Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism', a major exhibition exploring the birth of Brazilian modernism from January 28 to April 21, 2025. Curated by Adrian Locke, Fabienne Eggelhofer (Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern), and Roberta S. Coutinho, the show features over 40 works by ten second-generation Brazilian modernists, many previously unknown. Artists include Candido Portinari, Tarsila do Amaral, Flavio de Carvalho, Anita Malfatti, Lasar Segall, Roberto Burle Marx, Vicente do Rego Monteiro, Geraldo de Barros, Alfredo Volpi, Djanira da Motta e Silva, and Rubem Valentim. The exhibition traces the development of Brazilian modernism from the 1922 Modern Art Week in São Paulo, sponsored by patron Paulo Prado, through the political upheavals of the 1930s and the eventual consolidation of a national artistic identity in the 1950s. Works are drawn mostly from private collections, assembled over five years. The show also references a historic 1944 exhibition of Brazilian modernism in London, organized by statesman Oswaldo Aranha, which raised funds for the RAF through sales of donated works and catalogues. The curators highlight how these artists synthesized European avant-garde influences (Expressionism, Futurism, Cubism) with indigenous, African, and folk traditions to create a uniquely Brazilian modernism, addressing themes of slavery, migration, and cultural hybridity.