This text discusses the work of Amilcar de Castro (1920−2002), a sculptor and graphic designer who, along with Reynaldo Jardim and Carlos Lemos, revolutionized the treatment of the page in Brazil from 1956 to 1960 by wholly restructuring the layout of the Suplemento Dominical do Jornal do Brasil. After 1960, he concentrated on sculpture, becoming a key figure in what is called the “Neo-Concrete” movement led by author and theorist [José Ribamar] Ferreira Gullar (b. 1930), who wrote this text. The most striking aspect of de Castro’s sculpture is the use of heavy iron forms whose designs are often based on “a cut and a fold.” In discussing Amilcar de Castro’s work, poet, art critic, and journalist Ferreira Gullar reiterates his criticism of Concrete art from São Paulo. He contrasts certain qualities of the work of this sculptor from Minas Gerais—specifically its virtual dynamism and drama—with Concrete works that in Ferreira Gullar’s view, entail intellectualism and the use of serial forms. In the fifties, Amilcar de Castro took part in shows of groups associated with Concrete art in Brazil. He signed the emblematic “Manifesto Neoconcreto” written by Ferreira Gullar and published in the Jornal do Brasil on March 22, 1959. (1) Hélio Oiticica—who would later join the Neo-Concrete movement—wrote an article on de Castro entitled “H. Amilcar de Castro,” published in the magazine HABITAT, São Paulo, no. 83, May–June, 1965.
