Maxwell Alexandre's 'Pardo é Papel' and Di Cavalcanti Exhibitions at Instituto Tomie Ohtake
In São Paulo, the Instituto Tomie Ohtake is hosting two exhibitions featuring Afro-descendant artists: 'Pardo é Papel' by Maxwell Alexandre and 'Di Cavalcanti – Muralista,' curated by Ivo Mesquita. These exhibitions emphasize the importance of Afro-Brazilian painting throughout history. Alexandre, whose work has been displayed at the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon (2019), Museu de Arte do Rio, and Fundação Iberê Camargo, creates large-scale pieces on delicate paper, using tears to convey a political message. Unlike the traditional academic style of Pedro Américo, Alexandre captures vibrant scenes of Black individuals in daily life, including notable figures like Cartola and Basquiat. One prominent painting critiques the white cube institution, while gold leaf elements reflect the labor of enslaved people in Minas Gerais, underscoring resistance in modern Black Brazilian art.
Key facts
- Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo is hosting concurrent exhibitions by Afro-descendant artists Maxwell Alexandre and Di Cavalcanti.
- Maxwell Alexandre's 'Pardo é Papel' is an itinerant exhibition previously shown in Lyon, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre.
- The paintings are executed on fragile paper support, incorporating tears, referencing Arte Povera's political use of materials.
- Alexandre's works depict dynamic crowds of Black bodies in everyday scenes, including figures like Cartola, Arthur Bispo do Rosário, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
- A key painting features a meta-commentary on the 'white cube' gallery space, showing Black observers looking at a beige panel.
- Gold leaf in the compositions references gold mined by enslaved people in Minas Gerais.
- The exhibition contrasts with 19th-century academic historical paintings by Pedro Américo that marginalized Black and Indigenous figures.
- The show positions Black festive imagery as a form of resistance against systemic violence.
Entities
Artists
- Maxwell Alexandre
- Di Cavalcanti
- Pedro Américo
- Cartola
- Arthur Bispo do Rosário
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Ivo Mesquita
- Claudinei Roberto da Silva
- Montez Magno
- Mari Ra
- Zé di Cabeça
- Fabio Miguez
- Adenor Gondim
- Luciano Feijão
- Claudia Alarcón
- Luciara Ribeiro
- Naine Terena
- Khadyg Fares
- Adriano Pedrosa
- Laura Cosendey
- Renato Lopes
- Tomás Toledo
- Alana Silveira
Institutions
- Instituto Tomie Ohtake
- Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon
- Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR)
- Fundação Iberê Camargo
- Museu Paulista da Universidade de São Paulo
- Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
- Tomie Ohtake Institute
- Contemporary Art Museum in Lyon
- Rio Art Museum (MAR)
- Iberê Camargo Foundation
- Galeria Galatea Salvador
- Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
- Sesc Sorocaba
- MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
- Nara Roesler
- 10×10 Photobooks
- Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS)
- Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
- Instituto Hercule Florence
- Documenta Pantanal
Locations
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro
- Lyon
- France
- Porto Alegre
- Minas Gerais
- Salvador
- Bahia
- Vitória
- Espírito Santo
- Sorocaba
- Argentina
- Paraguay
- Gran Chaco
- Recife
- Pernambuco
- Olinda
- Porto Feliz
- Mato Grosso
- Grão-Pará