In this essay, Ferreira Gullar describes the context in which the Neo-Concrete art movement was created by artists in Rio de Janeiro. He outlines the movement’s evolution as he identifies key developments in its history, such as the series produced by Lygia Clark, Unidade modulada, Espaço modulado, and Planos em superfície modulada, which he refers to as the starting point of the Neo-Concrete movement. Gullar also mentions other essential contributors to the movement’s evolution, such as Hélio Oiticica and Willys de Castro, among others. In addition to his talents as a theorist and an art critic, Gullar was also a poet; in his essay he therefore exaggerates the “visual” approach and proposals of the Neo-Concrete poetry movement he headed.    

In his narrative, Ferreira Gullar goes beyond the parameters of the visual arts, arguing that Neo-Concrete poetry “extrapolates the limits of verbal language in order to invade the territory occupied by the visual arts.” This opinion becomes difficult to maintain when comparing the achievements of Concrete poetry at an international level in that specific area. [On this subject, see his essay in the ICAA digital archive: “A poesia neoconcreta” (doc. no. 1315256).]

As noted in his essay, the critic [José Ribamar] Ferreira Gullar (1930–2016) had already embraced the basic principles espoused by the Neo-Concrete group. After publishing his text “Teoría del No-objeto” [see the ICAA digital archive (doc. no. 1091374)] in the Sunday Supplement published by the Jornal do Brasil (December 19–20, 1959) he in fact became the movement’s theorist. The text also appeared in the catalogue for the exhibition Ciclo de exposições sobre arte no Rio de Janeiro: 1. Neoconcretismo, published by the Galeria de Arte BANERJ (Rio de Janeiro, 1984). The essay “Neoconcretismo e Merleau-Ponty,” written by Wilson Coutinho (doc. no. 1315430), was also included in that exhibition.

[See these other texts written by Ferreira Gullar: “Manifesto Neoconcreto” (doc. no. 1110328); “Do quadro ao não-objeto” (doc. no. 1091272); “Cor e estrutura-cor” (doc. no. 1091219); “Concretos de São Paulo no MAM” (doc. no. 1315102); “Arte Concreta” (doc. no. 1315020); “Da arte concreta à arte neoconcreta” (doc. no. 1315036); and “Arte neoconcreta, uma contribuição brasileira” (doc. no. 1315052).]