MAC-USP Exhibition Criticized for Basic Curatorial Model and Conflict of Interest

The exhibition 'Matriz do tempo real' at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP (MAC-USP), curated by Jacopo Crivelli Visconti, exemplifies a lazy curatorial model reliant on broad themes and works from various periods. The show fails to deliver a tangible experience of time, reducing complex works like On Kawara's 'Today' series to mere dates. A significant conflict of interest is noted, as the first work seen belongs to the 'coleção moraes-barbosa,' for which Visconti serves as curator, echoing the controversy that led Beatrix Ruf to resign from the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The museum's reliance on external projects funded by incentive laws, such as the R$ 750,000 support from Itaú for this show, reveals a public institution outsourcing its space without proper oversight. This practice, seen previously in the April 2023 exhibition 'Os desígnios da arte contemporânea no Brasil,' highlights the museum's bureaucratic survival and departure from its experimental legacy under former director Walter Zanini in the 1960s and 1970s.