Tarsila do Amaral - painter

This painting is called "Abaporu", and it is one of the most important paintings made in Brazil. Tarsila painted this in 1928 as a gift to her husband, writer Oswald de Andrade. She named the work "Abaporu", which means, "the man who eats" in tupi-guarani (Brazilian native indian language). After that, Oswald wrote the "Antropophagy Manifesto", and they created the "Antropophagic Movement" in the Brazilian Arts. This Movement was of crucial importance, and its intention was to "eat" and "digest" the european culture and produce Brazilian art related to Brazilian reality and themes.

"The Moon"

"Post Card"

"Anthropophagy"

"Workers"

Sculptures by Ascanio MMM

Ascanio MMM (Ascanio Maria Martins Monteiro) was born in Portugal in 1941, and became a Brazilian citizen in 1970. He is an architect by trade, who became a full time sculptor in 1976. His work is classified under neoconstructivism in Brazilian Contemporary Fine Arts.

His work can be seen at several public spaces, such as in front of highrise buildings and plazas in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Lisbon and Tokio. Some pieces are part of Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art's collection, and some others are part of private collections.

Using metal and wood, he plays with shapes, angles and volumes, creating unique geometrical forms, that resemble the ones studied in architecture school. He starts by creating a modular element that will be repeated as many times as needed to reach a different shaped form, horizontal or vertical, combining calculated curves with rigid straight lines.
Paralel to using modular forms created with raw materials used by industries, Ascanio also investigated the poetic possibilities produced by his final piece. One can notice the change in rhythm of these shapes depending on the light and shades formed.

Small weak pieces forming one large strong whole. It looks like to me he created a paralel to our human condition.

To see more of his work, visit his website: http://ascaniommm.com/