This article by Brazilian poet, critic, and diplomat Murilo Mendes (1901–75), who served as the Cultural Attaché at the Brazilian Embassy in Rome, discusses the importance of Almir Mavignier’s posters which, in 1963, were on exhibit in the Italian capital as part of a show organized by Mendes himself. The artist went on to show his work in Rio de Janeiro and in São Paulo. This text points out Mavignier’s contribution to Concrete art; in the late forties, Mavignier was one of the first abstract painters in Brazil. During those same years, he—along with artist Abraham Palatnik—was an instructor at the visual arts workshop that Doctor Nise da Silveira organized at Hospital Psiquiátrico Pedro II, a psychiatric hospital in Rio. That workshop was a pioneering initiative in occupational therapy in the country. In 1951, Mavignier moved to Europe, settling in Germany, where he worked as a painter and graphic artist. Along with another Brazilian—sculptor Mary Vieira—he was among the first students to enroll in the Hochschule für Gestaltung [Ulm School of Design]—the heir to the Bauhaus—where he studied from 1954 to 1958.
For further reading, see the following texts, also by Murilo Mendes: “A ação de Maria [Martins] como escultora” (doc. no. 1110395); “André Breton” (doc. no. 1110388); (untitled) [“Ismael Nery nasceu em Belém do Pará (…)”] (doc. no. 1110383); “Lasar Segall II” (doc. no. 1110671); “Nota Liminar” (doc. no. 1110369); “Recordações de Ismael Nery” (doc. no. 1110379); “Sugestões da Bienal” (doc. no. 1110911); and (untitled) [“Terá existido um pintor verdadeiramente surrealista? (…)”] (doc. no. 1110384).
