This essay was published in the catalogue for the exhibition Ciclo de exposições sobre arte no Rio de Janeiro: 1. Neoconcretismo (1984). The essay “Arte neoconcreta: uma experiência radical” by the art theorist and critic [José Ribamar] Ferreira Gullar (1930–2016) that can be found in the ICAA digital archive (doc. no. 1315414), appeared in the same catalogue. [For more information about the basics of the Brazilian Neo-Concrete movement written by the critic, see the following documents: “Manifesto Neoconcreto” (doc. no. 1110328); “Do quadro ao não-objeto” (doc. no. 1091272); “Cor e estrutura-cor” (doc. no. 1091219); “Arte Concreta” (doc. no. 1315020), and “Da arte concreta à arte neoconcreta” (doc. no. 1315036).]
The paradigmatic exhibition Projeto Construtivo Brasileiro na Arte (1977) was hugely influential in Brazil, elbowing aside an innovative reading on the meaning of rationalist movements in Brazilian art. The event took place in 1977 at the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, and later at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-RJ).
[For more information about this exhibition, see: “Projeto construtivo brasileiro na arte” (doc. no. 1110680) by Lygia Pape; “A arquitetura é a grande arte de nosso tempo—1948: Romero Brest em São Paulo” (doc. no. 1314972) by Ferreira Gullar; “Concretismo/ Neoconcretismo” by Frederico Morais (doc. no. 1315134); and “O problema da educação artística depois da Bauhaus” (doc. no. 1315069) by Tomás Maldonado.]
Wilson Coutinho (1947−2003) was a profesor of philosophy, a journalist, and an art critic; he was a graduate of the Université de Louvain, Belgium. In one of his journalistic stints he was the editor of the Segundo Caderno O Globo. For a brief period he was the curator at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-RJ), and played a key role in arranging for an exhibition of works by Camille Claudel at the museum. He worked at RioArte, Rio de Janeiro, and at the Ministério Estadoal de Cultura, where he published three series of books: Perfis do Rio, Cantos do Rio, and Areias do Rio.