RIO: THE MEASURE OF LAND

There are different ways to approach a city through art. One of them involves the iconography of its landscapes—whether natural or urban—created across different epochs. Another entails revisiting chapters of local art history and capturing, through them, something unique about the city. A third path seeks to write a sort of poetic chronicle of the different aspects of the social fabric within the studied territory.

In the exhibition Rio: The Measure of Land, which marks the inauguration of Flexa, we delve into Rio de Janeiro, guided by the diverse approaches mentioned earlier. The group show brings together forty-six artists spanning from the early 19th century to the present. It presents both historical and contemporary cityscapes, as well as works representative of neo-concretism—a pivotal moment in Rio de Janeiro’s art history—alongside later works, and a selection of pieces addressing political and social issues, such as urban violence and cultural resistance, manifested through parties and carnival.

A common thread running throughout the exhibition is the juxtaposition of works created in different periods, creating friction between the past and the present. This curatorial approach suggests various paths, one of which reflects Flexa’s mission to foster meaningful dialogues within art history by curating a collection spanning a wide timescale.

The diverse range of artists featured here does justice to a Rio de Janeiro characterized by multiple facets that do not coalesce into a uniform image. Hence, multiple viewpoints and contexts are essential to delineate a comprehensive perspective on the city, resonating with its inherently diverse and unequal history. Lastly, the decision to arrange works non-chronologically, by bringing together pieces from distant dates, evokes Walter Benjamin’s (1892-1940) concept of the temporality of artworks. According to Benjamin, artworks possess an intensive rather than extensive temporality, implying that a contemporary artwork may have closer ties to a piece from a century ago than to its contemporaries.

Luisa Duarte | Curator
Lucas Alberto | Assistant Curator

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Notes

  • 1 The research that uncovered the overlooked etymology of the word “geometry” took
    place in the context of writing the text “Ione Saldanha: a medida da terra” by Luisa Duarte.
    This text is featured in the catalogue for the exhibition “”one Saldanha: a cidade inventada,”
    curated by Adriano Pedrosa, MASP, 2021.
    2 Rio: The Measure of Land includes artworks from the Flexa collection as well as from
    various other sources.
    3 From the song Rio de Janeiro by Elza Soares, 1997.
    4 See: “Violenta geometria”, Rosana Paulino and Renata Felinto, Revista Zum, no. 19,
    2021.
    5 Calvino, Ítalo. Six Memos for the Next Milenium. London: Penguin Classics, 2009.

WORKS

Ana Hortides
Caquinhos, from the Casa 15 series, 2023
concrete and ceramic
122 x 12 x 7 cm [48 x 4 3/4 x 2 3/4 in]
(17900)

Ana Clara Tito
Untitled, 2023
mortar, clarophyllite, wire, rebar, plastic mesh, photographic transfer
54 x 44 x 4 cm 21 1/4 x 17 3/8 x 1 5/8 in
(17885)

Carlos Vergara
Cacique de Ramos, from the Carnaval series, 1972
methacrylate printing
60 x 180 cm [23 5/8 x 70 7/8 in]
(17874)

Marcos Chaves
Untitled #02, from the Buracos series, 1996/2008
photography
150 x 100 cm [59 x 39 3/8 in]
3/3 + 2 P.A.
(17860)

Laércio Redondo‍
Ney Matogrosso, 2023
mixed technique
variable dimensions
(17856)

Lívio Abramo
Botanical, 1953
xylograph on paper
25 x 21 cm [9 7/8 x 8 1/4 in]
83/195
(17850)

Lívio Abramo
River, 1954
xylograph on paper
25 x 21 cm [9 7/8 x 8 1/4 in]
16/60
(17849)

Zé Tepedino
First time, 2023
wood, nylon, and rubber
74 x 33 x 10 cm [29 1/8 x 13 x 4 in]
(17840)

Jonas Arrabal
Untitled, from the Caligrafia series, 2024
neon
70 x 55 cm [27 1/2 x 21 5/8 in]
(17826)

Wanda Pimentel
Mountains of Rio (Dois Irmãos, Gávea and Pedra Bonita) n°10, 1987
acrylic on canvas
80 x 110 cm [31 1/2 x 43 1/4 in]
(17825)

Gustavo Dall'Ara
Morro do Castelo's fountain, 1922
oil on canvas
43 x 39 cm [16 7/8 x 15 3/8 in]
(17722)

Henry Chamberlain
View from Rio de Janeiro's Bay, n.d.
watercolor on paper
45 x 68 cm [17 3/4 x 26 3/4 in]
(17634)

Tunga
Untitled, c. 2010
watercolor and graphite on paper
50 x 65 cm [19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in]
(17663)

Tunga
Untitled, c.2010
watercolor and graphite on paper
50 x 65 cm [19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in]
(17662)

Tunga
Untitled, c. 2010
watercolor and graphite on paper
50 x 65 cm 19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in
(17661)

Rosana Paulino
Brazilian-style geometry arrives in tropical paradise, 2021
digital print, collage and monotype on paper
48 x 33 cm [18 7/8 x 13 in]
(17660)

Rafael Alonso
Trance, 2023
acrylic on plywood
40 x 33 cm [15 3/4 x 13 in]
(17655)

Anísio Couto
Copacabana etc, 2023
oil on canvas
38 x 76 cm [15 x 29 7/8 in]
(17654)

Anísio Couto
Copacabana's 4 priorities, 2023
oil on canvas
38 x 78 cm [15 x 30 3/4 in]
(17653)

Fernanda Liberti
The kiss, 2021
photography
67 x 100 cm [26 3/8 x 39 3/8 in]
1/7
(17650)

Lygia Clark
Espaço modulado, 1958
tinta automotiva sobre madeira
30 x 30 cm
(17648)

Carlos Zilio
Caution, 1973
acrylic on canvas
140 x 210 cm [55 1/8 x 82 5/8 in]
(17644)

Glauco Rodrigues
Pollution, from the Rio Tourist Guide series, 1972
oil on wood chipboard
60 x 73 cm [23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in]
(17090)

Lygia Pape
Untitled, 1954/1956
automotive paint on wood
40 x 40 x 3 cm [15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 1/8 in]
(16917)

Marcia Falcão
Ecumenical meeting, 2022
oil on canvas
120,5 x 160 cm [47 1/2 x 63 in]
(16722)

Oswaldo Goeldi
Eclipse, n.d.
woodcut on paper
29 x 36 cm [11 3/8 x 14 1/8 in]
(15105)

Luiz Zerbini
Chinatown, 1994
oil on canvas
200 x 238 cm [78 3/4 x 93 3/4 in]
(14005)

Nicolau Facchinetti
Botafogo's bay, 1875
oil on wood
40,5 x 68,5 cm [16 x 27 in]
(13421)

Georg Grimm
Teresópolis, 1885
oil on canvas
54 x 46 cm [21 1/4 x 18 1/8 in]
(12651)

Heitor dos Prazeres
Untitled, n.d.
oil on canvas
50 x 61 cm [19 3/4 x 24 in]
(11452)

Sergio Camargo
Sem título, Déc. 1970
madeira policromada
50 x 50 x 3 cm
(8887)

Friedrich Hagedorn
Untitled, n.d.
Oil On Canvas
42 x 209 cm
(0961)