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Media EnquiriesClaire Rocha da CruzPress and Marketing Manager Email marketing@fruitmarket.co.ukPhone +44(0) 131 226 8182

Artur Barrio, Waltércio Caldas, Sergio Camargo,Aluísio Carvão, Amílcar de Castro, Willys de Castro, Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias, Fernanda Gomes, Jac Leirner, Antonio Manuel,Cildo Meireles, Ernesto Neto, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Pape, Mira Schendel, Tunga and Carlos Zilio.

The Fruitmarket Gallery presents a group exhibitionthat examines the transitions that have occurredwithin the sphere of the object in Brazilian art sincethe 1950s, and the importance of these transitions in the establishment of the hugely influentialexperimental tradition in Brazilian contemporary art.

‘Active-object’, ‘relational object’, ‘trans-object’, ‘non-object’, ‘poem object’, ‘graphic object’ are someof the new categories invented as artists struggled to come to terms with the conceptual expansion and redefinition of the object. Connecting the work of well-known Brazilian artists such as Hélio Oiticica,Lygia Clark and Mira Schendel, with the work of theirlesser-known contemporaries and the youngergeneration of artists that followed, the exhibition�is a celebration of some of the beautiful and artisticallyradical sculptures with which Brazilian artists have triedto redefine what an art object can actually be.From the more abstract, phenomenological objects of the neoconcrete artists of the 1950s, includingSergio Camargo’s Cubo aberto (Open Cube),1958–59, through to the conceptual works of the

avant-gardes of the 1960s and 70s, includingexamples of Hélio Oiticica’s Bolides and Lygia Clark’sBichos, and into the 1980s and to the present daywith works including Fernanda Gomes’s untitledsculptural constructions and small objects by Ernesto Neto, this exhibition traces a coherentsequence of artistic experimentation in the realm of the object, investigating this period of great artistic and historic importance, and its influence oncontemporary art today.

Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian ArtCurated by Paulo Venancio Filho

Exhibition 6 March – 25 May 2015

The Fruitmarket Gallery Media Release

Hélio Oiticica Relevo Espacial (Vermêlho) REL 036 (Spatial Relief [red] REL 036), 1959, polyvinyl acetate resin on plywood.�Tate. Purchased with assistance from the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, Tate Members and the Art Fund 2008. © Tate, London, 2014

Listings informationPossibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian ArtCurated by Paulo Venancio Filho6 March – 25 May 2015 Gallery opening hours: Mon – Sat, 11am–6pm; Sun, 12–5pmAdmission free45 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DFwww.fruitmarket.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Paulo Venancio Filho is an art critic, independent curator

and professor of art history at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is the curator of many major exhibitionson Latin American art, including Wifredo Lam – Gravuras(Caixa Cultural, Rio de Janeiro, 2010); Sergio Camargo:Claro Enigma (Instituto de Arte Contemporânea, São Paulo,2010); Hot Spots (Kunsthaus Zurich, 2009); Time and Place:Rio de Janeiro 1954:1964 (Moderna Museet, Stockholm, 2008);Anna Maria Maiolino: Territories of Immanence (Miami ArtCentral, 2006); Soto: A Construção da Imaterialidade(Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil, 2005); and Rio deJaneiro 1950–1964 in Century City: Art and Culture in theModern Metropolis (Tate Modern, 2001). His articles haveappeared in major catalogues including Tunga/CildoMeireles (Kanaal Art Foundation, Belgium); Inside the Visible(The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston);Experiment/Experiência (Museum of Modern Art, Oxford);and Oiticica in London (Tate Modern, London).

The Fruitmarket Gallery makes art accessible without

compromising art or underestimating audiences. We bringto Scotland the work of some of the world’s most importantcontemporary artists, recognising that art can change lives.We make exhibitions, commissions and publications directlyin collaboration with artists. We make it easy for everyone to engage with art and welcome all audiences.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is not-for-profit and exhibitions arealways free. Our work is supported through Regular Fundingfrom Creative Scotland, income from the café andbookshop as well as fundraising from trusts, foundations,donations and sponsorship. Please support us to stayindependent, ambitious and free.

For more information and images, please contact Press and Marketing at: marketing@fruitmarket.co.uk, +44(0)131 226 8182.

Antonio Dias Mãos (Hands), 1975/2002, painted iron,Collection of the artist. Photo: Vincente de Mello

The Fruitmarket Gallery is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland No. 87888 and registered as a Scottish Charity No. SC 005576. VAT No. 398 2504 21. Registered Office: 45 Market St., Edinburgh, EH1 1DF