In this presentation of an exhibition of work by Rosana Paulino held in 1997, art critic Aracy Amaral places emphasis on innovative features of Paulino’s work that mark a break with the Brazilian art scene of the time. She specifically mentions Paulino’s thematic use of the female figure as employing bold forms. She also discusses the large variety of media that Paulino employs and the resources that are drawn from the feminine domestic sphere—needle and thread, for instance—that are used in poignant and expressive work that is in no way nostalgic. Amaral asserts that Paulino establishes an intensive dialogue with art history in work that resonates with Brazilian and international artists that range from Flávio de Carvalho to Egon Schiele and from Hans Bellmer to “Anita Malfatti at her greatest in 1917.”

In this article, art critic and historian Aracy A. Amaral (b. 1930) analyzes the evolution of the work of young artist Rosana Paulino (b. 1967). From early on, Paulino’s pictorial production has engaged social and ethnic issues—the artist herself is Afro-Brazilian—and her work primarily deals with questions related to the lives and bodies of women. This text was written on the occasion of a show of Paulino’s art, entitled Cadernos de desenhos [Sketchbooks], held at Galeria Adriana Penteado (1997) in São Paulo. In her analysis, Amaral discusses the possibilities and the limitations of production that revolves around gender issues. On the basis of a number of series by Paulino, Amaral asserts that this bold and emancipatory body of work eschews preconceived models. This artist “is not [tied to] the audacity of the feminine that seems [at present] so endemic in the studios of Brazilian artists” who do nothing more than take sides as they embrace certain “politically correct” forms of expression.

Aracy Amaral has a great deal of experience in art administration, and in academic and curatorial practice. She was the director of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo from 1975 to 1979, and of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC-USP) from 1982 to 1986. She is currently a full professor of art history at the Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo (FAU-USP). The many books she has written on Brazilian art include: Tarsila, sua obra e seu tempo (São Paulo: Editora 34/EDUSP, 2010); Textos do Trópico de Capricórnio—artigos e ensaios (1980–2005), 3 vols. (São Paulo: Editora 34, 2006); Arte para quê? A preocupação social na arte brasileira 1930–1970 (São Paulo: Nobel, 2003); and Artes Plásticas na Semana de 22 (São Paulo: Perspectiva, 1970).