Frans Krajcberg's Sculpture Damaged in Brasília Coup Attempt, Sparking Renewed Appreciation for His Ecological Art
In January, a wood sculpture titled 'Galhos e Sombras' by Frans Krajcberg suffered significant damage during a coup attempt by supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in Brasília. Conservators discovered breaks at four locations in the sculpture, with one part entirely detached. Krajcberg, a Polish-born Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor who passed away in 2017, created art that criticized environmental degradation. The act of vandalism took place in December 2022, coinciding with deforestation rates that were 150 percent higher than those of the previous December. His 'Revolts' series connected the theme of environmental violence to the extermination of his family in Nazi camps. The Bahian government, which oversees his legacy, indicated that Krajcberg would not have wished for the damaged piece to be restored, seeing it as a reflection of human brutality.
Key facts
- Frans Krajcberg's sculpture 'Galhos e Sombras' was damaged in January during a coup attempt in Brasília by Bolsonaro supporters.
- Conservators reported the structure broken at four points with one element separated.
- Krajcberg, born in Poland in 1921 to a Jewish family, died in 2017 and used art to decry rainforest destruction.
- He survived the Holocaust, studied at Leningrad State University, and later settled in Brazil.
- His 'Revolts' series uses burned timber from illegal logging, linking environmental violence to his personal trauma.
- Krajcberg won best Brazilian painter at the 1951 Bienal de São Paulo and a prize at the 1964 Venice Biennale.
- Deforestation in December 2022 under Bolsonaro was 150% higher than the previous December.
- The Bahian government said Krajcberg would not want the damaged sculpture repaired.
Entities
Artists
- Frans Krajcberg
- Andy Warhol
- Fernand Léger
- Marc Chagall
- Lasar Segall
- Claudia Andujar
Institutions
- Bienal de São Paulo
- Venice Biennale
- Museu Brasileiro da Escultura e Ecologia
- Bauhaus
- Polish First Army
- Bahian government
Locations
- Europe
- Brazil
- Poland
- Leningrad
- Minsk
- Uzbekistan
- Warsaw
- Stuttgart
- Paris
- Rio de Janeiro
- Botafogo Beach
- São Paulo
- Paraná
- Brasília
- Bahia
- Nova Viçosa
- Amazon
- Atlantic rainforests
- Belém–Brasília Highway