This interview with Iberê Camargo published by Cultura magazine in 1972 is preceded by an introduction to the artist that includes biographical and professional information. They record his studies at the Escola de Artes e Ofícios at the Santa Maria da Boca do Monte (in his birth state of Rio Grande do Sul), as well as his architectural course at the Instituto de Belas Artes de Porto Alegre (the state capital); his period in Rio de Janeiro (1942?47), when he frequented the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes and founded the Grupo Guignard, under the supervision of painter Alberto da Veiga Guignard; after that, his stay in Europe where he studied with Giorgio de Chirico, Carlos Petrucci, Antonio Achille, Leone Augusto Rosa and André Lhote; his individual exhibitions; the special hall assigned to him at the VIII São Paulo biennial; and his most recent exhibition (at that time) at a gallery in Rio de Janeiro with diacritical text by Walmir Ayala, which is partially quoted in this document. Camargo’s statements not only trace his career but also his thoughts on the painting and engraving professions, as well as the teaching and practice of art in Brazil. This recalls the1954 Black and White Salon, which he created in protest against the high price of imported pigments due to the devaluation of Brazilian currency and the governmental policies that sought to protect the similar products produced in the nation. 

In this interview, Iberê [Bassani] Camargo (1914?94) reveals that he came to abstraction—a New Figuration, in his words—through a gradual disintegration of form. He begins with his experience in painting, which extracts realist facets of models, in this way returning an elemental autonomy to color and line. His abstractionist process blended with his experiences to awaken the geometric forms within reels, the female form, gestures, nature, etc. With regard to engraving, Camargo believes that the artistic level of the Brazilian production (Arthur Luiz Piza, Marcelo Grassmann and Fayga Ostrower) compares to the “best produced internationally.” Nevertheless, he objects to the fact that collectors do not value engraving (as if the existence of copies nullified the value of the original). Both “death” and “silence” are key topics within this interview, which he speaks of with a certain lyrical quality, revealing the same concerns that mark his work in fiction.

[As a complementary reading, see in the ICAA digital archive the painter’s interviews with Carlos and Marco André Martins, “Entrevista com Iberê Camargo” (doc. no. 1110420), and with Fernando Cocchiarale and Anna Bella Geiger, “Iberê Camargo” (doc. no. 1110415). See also the essay by Mônica Zielinsky “O sentido da alquimia de Iberê Camargo” (doc. no.  1110421)].