In this text José Geraldo Vieira offers his observations on the I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta, commenting on the works in the show by constructivist and abstract artists of international renown. He underscores the differences in works between the artists of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, identifying two well-defined groups in the show. In his judgment, the concrete movement in Brazil not only displays consistency, but also incentivizes a renewal in art criticism.

The I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta occurred in December 1956 at the Museu de Arte Moderna in São Paulo and afterward (January–February 1957) at the MES (Ministério da Educação e da Saúde) in Rio de Janeiro. For the first time, it brought together poets and concrete visual artists that operated in two Brazilian enclaves, thus revealing their different tendencies. In addition to José Geraldo Vieira, other critics such as Mário Pedrosa, Waldemar Cordeiro and Ferreira Gullar pointed out the differences in the “concrete” proposals of the artists from the two cities, which touched off debates and developments in theory that gave rise to a later dichotomy between Concretismo (São Paulo) and Neoconcretismo (Rio de Janeiro).

This document is of interest because it establishes national and international connections of this trend, highlighting the maturity of “concrete art” in Brazil. The I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta undoubtedly represents the peak of the movement.

[For a complementary reading, see in the ICAA digital archive the following texts: by Ferreira Gullar “I - O Grupo de São Paulo: I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta” (doc. no. 1087166), “I Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta: 2 - O grupo do Rio” (doc. no. 1090217), and “Manifesto Neoconcreto” (doc. no. 1110328); by Waldemar Cordeiro “Teoria e prática do concretismo carioca” (doc. no. 1087287); and by Mário Pedrosa “Paulistas e cariocas” (doc. no. 1085056)].