The early work of Italian-born painter Alfredo Volpi (1896−1988), who began producing art in the twenties, made exclusive use of figurative language. Three decades later—in the fifties—he ventured into geometric abstraction. He participated in the Iª Exposição Nacional de Arte Concreta, held first in São Paulo in 1956, and then in Rio de Janeiro in 1957. Volpi’s painting was widely admired, indeed celebrated, by artists and poets who—unlike the author of this text—were connected to the Concrete movement, although his art did not fit easily into the parameters of Concrete art. In 1941, painter, printmaker, draftsman, set designer, and graphic artist Willys de Castro (1926–1988) moved to São Paulo from his native Minas Gerais to study with André Font. His first abstract geometric drawings were produced in the early fifties. De Castro and his lifelong companion Hércules Barsotti (1914?2010) started a studio geared to graphic projects. Upon returning to Brazil from a study trip to Europe in the late fifties, de Castro became more identified with the Rio de Janeiro-based “Neo-Concrete” movement led by critic Ferreira Gullar. In poetic language, de Castro points out the singularities of Volpi’s work. In his view, Volpi moves between the figurative and abstract languages. He delves into icons of Brazilian popular culture, such as the paper banners waved on the street during Saint John’s Day (São João), to develop a body of work that de Castro calls “vôlpis.” The greatest merit of this work, de Castro argues, lies in the use of color.
