Carlos Zílio (b. 1944) is one of the principal contemporary artists of Brazil who has had a multi-faceted career; in recent decades, he has dedicated himself to the teaching and publication of books on the history of art. Zílio resumed his artistic career in Brazil when he presented the exhibition Atensão after years of being politically militant and linked to the group MR-8 [the Revolutionary Movement 8th October], an armed urban guerrilla group. He lived in France in exile during the early 1970s. Additionally, his exhibition was already far removed from what was being presented by the Nova Objetividade Brasileira of 1967 and its optimistic universal views, and even Pop art, that had been predominantly influencing his work in the 1960s. On his return to Brazil, and his return to his artistic career and to teaching, he also served as editor of the Brazilian magazine Revista Gávea.
The art critic and curator Wilson Coutinho established his career in Rio de Janeiro, producing considerably remarkable work between 1980 through 2003.
[For additional information, please refer to the following texts in the ICAA digital archive: the interview between Fernando Cocchiarale and Carlos Zílio regarding the exhibition at the MAM-Rio (Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro) in the year of 1996, under the title Carlos Zilio – Arte e política, 1966–1976 (doc. no. 1110517); and regarding the exhibition Atensão, the text by Ronaldo Brito “Leitura crítica do real” (doc. no. 1110555)].