In this brochure essay produced for Artistas de Campinas, the exhibition presented at the Galeria de Arte das Folhas in 1959, Waldemar Cordeiro discusses the non-figurative “trends” and “contents” he detects in the works shown by participating artists. In his opinion, the objective content and clarity of meanings create a sense of unity among the works on display rather than merely casting them all in the same mold. Though some works appear to be closer to Expressionism than to Concrete art, they represent “what is new;” that is, “whatever contradicts and denies naturalism and whose roots can be traced back to the Renaissance.” In Cordeiro’s view, Thomaz Perina confirms that “what is new” in terms of content can be expressed “even in lyrical abstraction.” Raul Porto, on the other hand, “takes a direct approach to Concrete art by exploring contradictions between optical and geometric options.” As regards the conflict between abstract and Concrete art, Cordeiro claims that Mario Bueno’s orthogonal structures and restrained use of color make a clear statement, relying on a simplified “internal organization” that never eschews spontaneity. Geraldo de Souza’s work approaches abstraction “while preserving a figurative memory.” The essay discusses the work of other participating artists who are more focused on “tactile” issues, “rotating symmetries,” and “parabolic movement.”

In 1957 the major art promoters in São Paulo noticed that important figurative artists had been excluded from the biennial, which was more focused on Concrete art. As a result, the industrialist Isaí Leirner (who was, at the time, the director of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo) sponsored an alternative exhibition of works by twelve São Paulo artists. This first exhibition—which was later called the Prêmio Leirner de Arte Contemporânea—was held in the lobby of the building where the newspaper Folha de São Paulo had its offices. Leirner eventually created a space specifically for this purpose, known as the Galeria de Arte das Folhas (which was open from 1958 to 1962), where exhibitions, debates, and lectures were organized to discuss a wide range of trends and styles other than the ones endorsed by the organizers of the Bienal de São Paulo. Leirner and the other businessmen who were involved in the Galeria often bought the works exhibited there, which they then donated to various museums, thus contributing to the institutional recognition of participating artists. During its four-year lifespan the Galeria introduced many emerging artists, such as Franz Weissmann, Regina Silveira, Maria Helena Andrés, Mário Silésio, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, Willys de Castro, and Hermelindo Fiaminghi, among others.

The Italian-Brazilian artist Waldemar Cordeiro (1925–1973) was also a critic and Concrete art theorist in São Paulo. In the late 1940s he started writing for the Brazilian press, publishing articles and essays that provoked all manner of debates with artists and critics (especially with Ferreira Gullar) about the self-referential quality implicit in the idea of something “concrete”—an art concept that involves a totally real “autonomous object.” His essay is an integral part of the exhibition of works by seven artists (all of whom are from the city of Campina) held at the Galeria de Arte das Folhas in August 1959. Cordeiro wrote about Thomaz Perina again the following year for another exhibition at the gallery [see the ICAA Digital Archive (doc. no. 1232976">1232976) and the 1960 Leirner Prize (doc. no. 1309148)].

Though the Prêmio Leirner de Arte Contemporânea [see the ICAA digital archive (doc. no. 1232976">1232976)] was originally created to recognize works by figurative artists who had been excluded from the biennial, Cordeiro’s involvement and the inclusion of Perina in this exhibition suggest that Concrete works were also considered. Originally from Campinas, Perina taught painting in his studio and was a drawing instructor at the Escola de Desenho e Tecnologia de Campinas. The roster of his students included Geraldo de Souza, Raul Porto, Maria Helena Motta Paes, and Francisco Biojone. He and Porto were founding members of the Grupo Vanguarda, which presented over a score of group exhibitions from 1957 to 1966, including one at the Galeria de Arte das Folhas (1959). Perina was a member of the Grupo Hoje from 1961 to 1975.

Cordeiro reviewed the work of other artists who participated in the exhibition but were not involved in the conflict between the abstract and Constructivist movements. He detected the influence of the Italian “Novecento’s” urban landscape in Franco Sacchi’s work, here distilled down into subjects and elements, as well as a “rotating geometry” of perspectives. Maria Helena Motta Paes relies on a haptic (tactile) approach in her paintings whose impasto surfaces “communicate dramatic feelings due to their conventional or semiotic visual value.” Geraldo Jurgensen, the lone sculptor in the exhibition, creates a kind of parabolic movement in his wire sculptures that express a “compositional taste that is both complex and organized.”

[For complementary readings, see the following: “Produto direto de uma atitude crítica (…)” (doc. no. 1087239) by Cordeiro; “Oito Artistas de Campinas” (doc. no. 1316891) by Theon Spanudis; “Geraldo de Souza” (doc. no. 1322383) by Raul Porto; and “Vanguarda e Raul Porto” (doc. no. 1233071), “Raul Porto [Carta] a Aracy Amaral” (doc. no. 1316858), and “Raúl Porto” (doc. no. 1309108">1309108) by Décio Pignatari (doc. no. 1309108">1309108).]