SIMPLE/SOPHISTICATED
Exhibition by artist Paulo Roberto Leal at Galeria de Arte Ipanema opens on September 12, curated by Paulo Venancio Filho
For Paulo Venancio Filho, curator of “Simple/Sophisticated,” the exhibition is a significant re-presentation of Paulo Roberto Leal’s work—a unique opportunity to revisit a legacy that continues the geometric abstraction of the post-neoconcrete movement in a deeply personal and, as the artist himself often noted, quite playful manner. Having hosted several important exhibitions of the artist’s work, Galeria de Arte Ipanema—which opened in 1971 with a Paulo Roberto Leal exhibition—is bringing together more than 20 pieces starting on the September 12 opening date. As one of the pioneers of Modernism and the longest-running gallery in Brazil, the institution pays tribute to Leal by assembling a selection from its collection, including paintings and objects spanning the 1970s and 80s.
His previous experience as a graphic artist provided him with an intimate understanding of how to occupy spaces, particularly two-dimensional ones, while introducing a chromatic freedom that captures the more extroverted atmosphere of 1970s Rio de Janeiro, distinct from the neoconcretism of the 1950s.
