Miguel Bakun's Post-Impressionist Legacy Explored in São Paulo Exhibition

A retrospective of Miguel Bakun's work is on view at Simões de Assis Galeria de Arte in São Paulo until December 14. The exhibition focuses on the artist's production preceding his final phase, omitting his later works. Bakun, born in 1909 in Paraná to Ukrainian immigrants and who died tragically in 1963, was largely unknown outside his home state. His work demonstrates how international modern art movements like Post-Impressionism could flourish in peripheral countries like Brazil years after their European inception. The artist's practice was influenced by José Pancetti and, significantly, by Vincent van Gogh, whose work he studied through reproductions. This allowed Bakun to understand painting as a construction of form through color and gesture, not merely subject matter. The show's curator suggests a future exhibition should address Bakun's final, more transgressive phase. The documentary 'Autorretrato de Bakun' (1984) by Sylvio Back is recommended as a complementary artwork. The article originates from a personal recollection by a critic who first encountered Bakun's work in Curitiba in the early 1990s, introduced by artist Eliane Prolik. That initial encounter led to Bakun's inclusion in the 'Bienal Brasil Século XX' in São Paulo in 1994.